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THE 


iA' 




GrOLDEN LADDER; 


OR, 





By Mrs. SAEAH A. "WEIGHT, 


Ay,ihorc88 of The Gem of the Xafte,” Secret DutfZ,” Medoray’*^ Beauty of jFair/cjx,” 

Improper Use of the Tonguey'*'* etCy etc* 



Oh, Love 1 ■what is it in this world of ours, 

Which makes it fatal to be loved? AhI whv 
With cypress branches hast thou wreathed thy bowers, 
And made thy best interpreter a sigh ? 

As THOSE who dote ON ODORS PLUCK THE FLOWERS, 

And place them on their breast— but placed to die— 
Thus the frail beings we would fondly cherish, 

Are laid within our bosoms but to perish.” 


NEW YORK: 

AMERICAN NEWS COMPANY, 




119 AiqD 131 Nassau Street. 


1871 . 

(!>• 



% 


Entered according to Act of Congress, In the year 1870, by 
SARAH A. WRIGHT, 

la the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington* 


THE 


MASONIC FRATERNITY, 

Wherever Dispersed, 

TO WHOM 

/ DEDICATE THIS VOLUME, 

AND AT WHOSE HANDS 

I HAVE RECEIVED MANY ACTS OF KINDNESS, 

AND WHOSE ESTEEM 

I AM ALWAYS ANXIOUS TO DESERVE. 






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PREFACE. 


In launching a vessel, the constructors thereof, when liuie and 
tide are favorable, remove the shores that restrain her, and let 
her glide at once into her natural element ; and I, emulating the 
idea, now that my work is done, and my book completed, urge 
it forward upon the wide sea of public opinion to sink or swim ; 
to by its merits, steer itself safely into the sunny haven of an- 
other edition, or, over-freighted by faults, founder in the terrible 
storms of adverse criticism, or be wrecked upon the sharp rocks 
of general disapprobation. But, as no ship is allowed to depart 
without a correct manifest of the cargo aboard, I, to correctly 
follow out the simile here used, necessarily deem it best to pre- 
sent to the underwriters — the press and public — an inventory of 
the freight my venture bears. 

That “ truth is stranger than fiction” is a time-honored aphor- 
ism, therefore I have chosen to base my story upon incidents 
which actually occurred, rather than to search in the wild and 
mystic plains of romance for a foundation upon which to rear an 
edifice. Besides a wish to gratify my readers, I have had in so 
doing what I consider is a holy aim in view. To the best of my 
ability I have endeavored to depict the misery and long-suffer- 
ing, the heart-burnings and tortures to which all subject them- 
selves who become votaries to the insatiable deities, wealth and 
position ; and no phase of this state can be better exemplified 
than by delineating the life of one who, by once kneeling at the 
shi-ine of Dives, made bleak and desolate what should have 


6 


PREFACE. 


been the brightest and happiest period of her existence. In 
Annah Morgan the reader is introduced to no mere creation of 
the author’s imagination. The lady so designated still lives. 
Some may deem, so censorious is the world, that I have over- 
stepped the bounds of truth and probability, by painting in so 
dark a shade the character of Marcellus. That a man so vile did 
exist may seem scarcely feasible to persons who have been 
accustomed only to associate with those who are pure and gentle 
of heart; but, alas! many there are in this world who can 
testify to the existence of such fiends in human shape — many 
whose lives might have been pure, peaceful, and pleasant, had 
they not staked and lost their all in attempting to ascend to the 
pinnacle of Fame by the Golden Ladder. 

In cheerful contrast, I have endeavored to show, to the best of 
my ability, how much more may be attained b}’^ those who 
practice the cardinal virtues, the greatest of which is Charity. 
This, the most redeeming feature in the nature of “ poor hu- 
manity,” is more cori-ectly delineated by Freemasonry than any 
other example I could possibly find. Because the brotherhood 
cloaks its good deeds from the prying eyes of heartless scoffers, 
and prefers to keep secret rather than to parade its charitable 
actions, many doubt its value and sincerity. But there are 
thousands now living who would have foundered and sunk 
beneath the turgid waves of affliction, had not a Mason’s hand 
been extended to pluck them forth from the rapid-rushing tor-^ 
rent that would have carried them to destruction. 

And now, having baptized my bark, I launch her forth, 
trusting that she will merit and meet the approbation of the 
public, to whom courtesies jj*- 

THE AUTHORESS. 


4 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTBR PAGE 

I. For Better or Worse 7 

II. Widow and her Son : 17 

III. Annah’s Rival 26 

IV. Changing Base 37 

V. Kissing the Rod 47 

VI. Benevolence 56 

VII. “ Ashes to Ashes” 66 

VIII. Torn Asdnder 76 

IX. “ A Nice Old Man” 89 

X. “Zura” 96 

XI. The Lost Slave 105 

XII. A Night of Terror Ill 

XIII. Sheltered 126 

XIV. The Green-eyed Monster 140 

XV. A Model Husband 155 

XVI. Morgan’s Machinations 170 

XVII. Found at Last 179 

XVIII. Sunshine and Shadow 188 

XIX. “ Coming Events” 195 

XX. The Storm Bursts 207 

XXL Res Angusta Domi 218 

XXII. TffiE Secret Disclosed 280 

XXIII. .Adah’s Probation 242 

XXIV. Seeking Solace 259 

XXV. A Hostile Meeting 267 

XXVI. A Gallant Deed 278 


viii CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER PAOB 

XXVII. Filled to the Brim 289 

XXVIII. “ Up IN A Balloon” 803 

XXIX. Gale-driven 309 

XXX. How THE Ladder WAS Reared 323 

XXXI. Preparing for Combat 340 

XXXII. Bowed Down 350 

XXXIII. The Retribution 3CG 

XXXIY. Port at last^ 371 


THE GOLDEN LADDER 


CHAPTEE I. 

FOR BETTER OR WORSE. 


And tlien the.y laid their bribe at her feet, 

— ’Tis the same old tale that often is told — 
They played on the strings of her heart’s conceit, 
And dazzled her eyes with gold. 


HAT a beautiful starlight night !” said 
Annah Foy, addressing her friend, Julia 



Morrison, as they strolled up and down an 
old piazza. 

Yes,” replied her companion ; ** tliis scene re- 
minds one of Dido — 


‘ In such a night 

Stood Dido, with a willow in her hand, 

Upon the wild sea-banks, and wared her lore 
To come again to Carthage.’ ” 

Ab these words escaped the lips of Julia, she 
glanced j^Annah, who stood with quivering lips, 
and tears^tgering in her bright blue eyes, as she 
threw back a cluster of auburn curls which drooped 
over her fair forehead. Just then Julia noticed the 


8 


THE GOLDEN LADDER 


brilliant diamond star that gleamed on the slender 
finger of her friend in the moonlight. 

As often as she had seen this love-token, she had 
never before thought of its pure value. She saw 
that Annah had some secret to unfold, as she was 
her bosom companion and adviser, and could read 
every emotion of her soul. 

“ Why did you so particularly mention the Queen 
of Carthage a few moments ago?” asked Miss Foy. 

“ Because I knew you were in love, and the moon 
and stars always revivify these thoughts in our 
minds.” 

“ Yes,” replied Miss Foy, “ that is true ; and for 
the last half-hour I have been trying to nerve myself 
to tell you a secret, but I fear your decision.” 

“Really,” said Julia, “do you? But I did not 
suppose for a moment, Annah Foy, that you would 
ever keep anything from me that pertained to your 
happiness or future prosperity. You know that 
we are true friends, and true friendship never wavers. 
Besides, you also know that Adrian Castle left you 
under my charge when he went to the Indies.” 

At the very sound of Adrian’s name Annah appa- 
rentty trembled. * 

“Oh, Julia!” cried the fair girl, “thaiJ^'just the 
subject that I was trying to broach, but I could not 
gain courage enough to do so.” 


FOR BETTER OR WORSE. 


9 


“ Well, what is it ?” asked the sprightly Julia. “ I 
am always ready to aid my friends,” she added. 

At that instant, Annah held forth her beautiful 
hand, and said, referring to the brilliant that shone 
upon her finger : 

“Next Wednesday, next Wednesday, Julia, I re- 
move from my finger this elegant ring and, as her 
lips uttered the words, tears fell from her eyes upon 
the sacred treasure she so highly prized. 

“ What do you mean, Annah ?” asked Julia Mor- 
rison. “That ring is the token of love and an 
engagement between you and Adrian Castle, at least, 
so I have always understood.” 

“ Well,” replied Miss Toy, “ so it was, Julia, but 
that vow is broken — broken indeed !” 

“By whom ?” asked the intrepid girl. 

“ By Adrian,” replied Annah, trying to look 
angry; “and next Wednesday will be my wedding- 
day.” • 

“Wedding-day!” repeated Julia, as she turned 
deathly pale. “ Annah Foy, you certainly must be 
bereft of your senses ! To whom, if I may ask, do 
you intend to give your hand ?” 

“ To M^rcellus Morgan,” replied Annah, gravely. 

“ Do you intend to reject Adrian Castle, and to 
marry Marcellus Morgan?” 

“I have never rejected Mr. Castle, Julia,” said 
1 * 


10 


THE GOLDEN LADDEB. 


Annah, with a pensive air. “He has broken his 
engagement with me, and I am now at liberty.” 

“ I do not believe it,” said her friend, with energy. 
“ This is an intrigue of Morgan’s, and at some future 
day you will repent this hasty marriage. I know 
that your old Aunt Betsey favors this union with Mr. 
Morgan ; she is one of the worshipers of Aaron’s 
‘ Golden Calf.’ ” 

“ No, no, Julia,” said Annah, “ not a calf, but a 
ladder.” 

“Well,” replied Miss Morrison, “I have read of 
the calf, not of the ladder ; therefore I thought that 
perhaps the old lady wished you to become one of 
the idolaters.” 

“ Ah !” said Annah, smiling, “ she did tell me the 
other day to ascend the Golden Ladder in my youth, 
and not await for ‘ Oriental honors’ — to accept Mar- 
cellus, whether I loved him or not.” 

“ Fine advice,” said Julia. “ She was thinking of 
Mount Pisgah, no doubt, and wished old Moses on 
the ladder to view the Promised Land, as she is so 
holy and desirous to go to that beautiful country 
some of these days.” 

“The secret is unfolded, Julia,” said Miss Foy, 
“ next Wednesday is to be my wedding-day, and as 
you have always promised to be one of my brides- 
maids, I desire your attention.” 


FOB BETTER OB W0B8E. 


11 


We cannot describe the astonishment of Julia 
Morrison when she perceived that Annah was in 
earnest ; however, she consented to play her part on 
the bridal day. 

“ Well,” said our young friend, “do you know that 
we have been in this heavy dew more than three 
hours ? Let us retire, my lady fair, and dream upon 
the merits of your intended lord, and the rural 
scenery of Poplar Hill.” 

The two young ladies retired ; but only to rest, 
not to sleep, for in one week more the gay and happy 
Annah Foy was to become Mrs. Marcellus Morgan. 

The weather was beautiful during the latter part 
of August : the sparkling diamond, Adrian’s present, 
had been removed, and Marcellus’s plain ring placed 
upon Annah’s finger ; yet she had whispered when 
she removed this love-token, “ I will keep this treas- 
ure, although I shall not wear it. It shall never give 
my husband pain. I know that Adrian loved me 
when he placed this little star upon my finger, and, 
as we shall never meet again, it makes but little 
difference, now that I shall soon be Mrs. Morgan.” 
She placed this precious treasure in a small gilt box 
and locked it in a bureau-drawer, where she sup- 
posed no eyes except her own would ever see it. The 
wedding-day arrived. The fiowers were arrayed in 
their richest bloom, and green branches were weighed 


12 


THE GOLDEN LADDER 


down with tempting fruit. Birds warbled their eu- 
phonious melodies, and Nature was altogether lovely. 
Upon one of the noblest plantations in America the 
bridal procession formed. This was the Morgan 
homestead. By the request of the old people Mar- 
cellus and Ann ah were married there. The edifice 
was of the Gothic order, substantial and capacious. 
The lawn, upon which the gay group were assembled, 
appeared as if Flora and Hebe had strewn flowers 
on the brilliant pathways of Hymen ; although, as 
if to mock the spirit of Hope, in front of the door 
of the mansion stood a weeping- willow, whose pend- 
ent branches overshadowed the bride — symbolical 
of melancholy. Our heroine was gladdened by the 
sunlit charms of creation, yet the willow awakened 
transient emotions of sadness. 

The bride and groom elect, just before the arrival 
of the minister, walked to a pleasant garden to 
survey the rising and swelling surf of the ocean, 
and, as Annah stood gazing upon the beautiful 
scene, she repeated the following exquisite lines of 
Lord Byron : 

“ Roll on, thou deep and dark blue ocean — roll I 
Ten thousand fleets sweep over thee in vain ; 

Man marks the earth with ruin — his control 
Stops with the shore ; — upon the watery plain 
The wrecks are all thy deed, nor doth remain 
A shadow of man’s ravage, save his own, 

When for a moment, like a drop of rain. 


FOR BETTER OR WORSE. 


13 


He sinks into thy depths with bubbling groan 
Without a grave, unknelled, uncoffin’d, and unknown. 

“ Thou glorious mirror, where the Almighty’s form 
Glasses itself in tempests : in all time. 

Calm or convulsed in breeze, or gale, or storm. 

Icing the pole, or in the torrid clime 
Dark-heaving, boundless, endless, and sublime, 

The image of Eternity — the throne 
Of the Invisible, even from thy slime 
The monsters of the deep are made ; each zone 
Obeys thee; thou goest forth dread, fathomless, alone.” 

“ Surely, Annah,” said Morgan, pressing her hand 
within his own, “ the view of the ocean has called 
forth a burst of poetry. I never heard you so elo- 
quent before ; you may be a poetess yourself some 
of these days.” 

The surging waters first appeared dark, until, 
crested with silvery foam, they broke upon the beach 
white as the driven snow. 

Leaning upon Morgan’s arm, Annah returned to 
the house as the minister rode up to salute them. 
Her orphan, virgin heart became tremulous. Dis- 
tant billows boomed, and the willow bowed porten- 
tiously. Tears of joy and sorrow were co-min- 
gling. Still the goddess of Nature had donned a 
wedding-garment, and everything for awhile wore 
an auspicious aspect. A few moments before Annah 
was led to the altar, she glanced once more at her 
fair hand, and could not help but draw a sigh as she 


14 


THE GOLDEN LADDER 


missed Adrian’s ring. The nuptial ceremony had 
scarcely been solemnized when the unclouded hori- 
zon became black ; the sun withdrew his radiant 
beams ; vivid flashes of lightning darted to and fro ; 
the thunder reverberated with deafening peals, as 
large drops of rain fell around, causing many a fra- 
gile flower to droop its head. Solar radiance sud- 
denly dispersed that evanescent storm ; but ele- 
mentary strife, occurring at any momentous period, 
always seems a premonitory sign of woe. 

“What a storm!” exclaimed the trembling bride 
to her friend, Julia Morrison. 

“A storm, indeed!” returned that young lady, 
with peculiar accent, as though she considered it an 
evil omen. 

Morgan’s father affected aristocratic airs ; he at 
first excused himself from being present at the mar- 
riage-feast, on the plea that his feelings were so 
exquisitely sensitive,- that the slightest apprehension 
of his son not proving fortunate in the step he had 
taken, would bring his gray hairs in sorrow to the 
grave. So the old gentleman complained of indis- 
position, and kept aloof. Nevertheless, he resigned 
to Marcellus a handsome estate, and on the follow- 
ing day the wedding-dinner was to come off at Mar- . 
cellus’s own home, “ Poplar Hill.” This was a fine 
forest plantation, surrounded with oak, chestnut, 


FOR BETTER OR WORSE. 


15 


and maple, located in a neighborhood called the 
“ White Marsh.” Annah was a stranger to this 
part of the country, and to most of the guests. The 
wedding-party had all gone on in advance to hail 
the bride and groom with the usual salutations. 
When the young husband started for their new home, 
forsaking the usual road, he took a circuitous route. 
The distance was not more than five miles, but, by 
Morgan’s manoeuvering,- they drove over twice that 
extent of ground. Weary of riding, the bride gently 
observed : 

“ The company will be dissatisfied at our absence, 
and wonder what has become of us.” 

“ I wish you to see the neighborhood,” replied 
her husband, “ and to have your opinion of the 
‘ White* Marsh.’ ” 

“ The houses excepted, everything appears dark,” 
rejoined the young wife, listlessly. “ Let us increase 
our speed, or we shall be too late for dinner. I feel 
tired, and must confess I am hungry.” 

‘‘ My horses, madam,” cried Morgan, with asper- 
ity, must not be over-driven.” However, he gave 
orders to move faster. 

As they approached, tall poplars appeared as 
though they were looking over the smaller trees in 
order to view the bridal group. When they arrived, 
three or four colossal negroes took charge of the 


16 


THE GOLDEN LADDER. 


horses, while dusky faces peeped from every loop- 
hole and casement to catch a glimpse of their new 
mistress. Mrs. Morgan could not but admire her 
new abode. It was a substantial, commodious 
building, located amid enchanting forest scenery, 
and every way desirable. 

When Marcellus led his wife to the portal, her 
heart beat faster as she heard him rapturously ex- 
claim : “ Welcome home, my jewel !” 

Marcellus had often called Annah by this name 
in the happy days of courtship ; he also knew it 
was a favorite pet name that Adrian Castle called 
her by; but, as he had beat the bush and caught the 
bird, he was not jealous, knowing her young lover 
was far away in the East Indies. 

The wife gazed around. And this was indeed 
Poplar Hill, of which she had heard so much and so 
often ! The festival passed off with edU, Morgan 
senior made his appearance, and, instead of looking 
like an invalid, exhibited every symptom of iTide 
health. He toasted the bride so frequently that he 
really became sick from a wine-fever. At last the 
time arrived for the jovial guests to depart, and, a 
few days after their exodus, the household resumed 
its pristine calmness. 


CHAPTEE II. 


WIDOW AND SON. 



EAVING the pair to enjoy the honey- 
moon, we will take a glance at Ann ah’s step- 
mother, Mrs. Mary Ann Eoy, who is, as yet, a 
widow, who has but one child, little Andrew, 
a bright blue-eyed boy, eight years of age. He had 
no recollection of his father, having been very young 
when he lost that inestimable treasure. Andrew 
naturally asked many questions concerning his de- 
ceased parent, and would often mention the name of 
“ Sissie Annah.” 

It was yet vivid in his mind how she romped, 
played, danced, and sang for him every evening 
when she came from school ; therefore, it was very 
natural that, although very young, he should re- 
member her. Annah Morgan, from childhood, was 
always fond of pets ; birds, flowers, or something, 
she idolized. 

She had a cage of red-birds, and little Andrew 
always made his nurse take him to meet his “ Sis- 
sie,” in order that he might tell her that he and 
“ Eose,” who was the colored girl, had fed the bird- 


18 


TEE OOLDEE LAEDER. 


ies. And for a long while subsequent to the death 
of her father, and after the family had been broken 
up, and she had gone to live with her aunt, little 
Andrew continued to speak of her. 

Perhaps the reader might be interested in a short 
digression on the birthplace and life of our hero- 
ine previous to the demise of her father, and her 
removal to the aunt who was such an admirer of the 
“ Golden Ladder.” 

Annah’s kind stepmother, Mrs. Mary Poy, was 
fond of relating historical events ; she will no doubt 
amuse the reader, as well as her son, by rehearsing 
little incidents connected with the birthplace and 
life of Annah Foy, when a child. 

It is always well for people to know who their an- 
cestors were, and from whom they sprang, as there 
is so much codfish aristocracy in this age, and so 
many admirers of the Golden Calf. Money out- 
weighs talent, merit, birth, and every other pure 
quality, with the great majority of mankind. There- 
fore, Mrs. Mary Foy was determined that her son 
should know from whence he sprang, and who his 
ancestors were. Andrew usually asking many ques- 
tions, his mother thus commenced : 

“ My son, you were very young when your father 
died, but I will try to instruct you in regard to your 
family, birth, etc. But you must not be over-anxious 


WIDOW Am SON. 


19 


to hear the end, as there are many very thrilling in- 
cidents connected with most families, as well as 
pleasant scenes.” 

“Mother, what sort of a man was my father?” 
asked Andrew, one evening, a few years after 
Annah’s marriage, as they sat all alone beside a 
good, old-fashioned oak fire, which burned on the 
brass andirons and looked so cheerful. 

“ Well, my child,” said his mother, pushing aside 
her gold glasses, “ your father was a widower, and 
my guardian, when he led me to the altar. Well, 
we were married, and lived in one of the most beau- 
tiful villages situated on the shores of the Atlantic, 
‘ Drummondtown.’ 

“ This romantic spot is the county-seat, and it con- 
tains many fine specimens of architecture ; churches, 
with their loud- tolling bells and tall spires, remind- 
ing us of the rushing tide of city-life, and of the 
* last solemn knell besides, many other fine edifices 
give token of the wealth and taste of the inhabit- 
ants. This village possesses its shady groves and 
silent glades, where is heard the constant gurgling 
of cool running waters, and the warbling of birds 
among the branches of the mock-orange, tulip, and 
magnolia, w^hile the odor of a thousand flowers is 
Wafted upon the breezes far and wide. The yards 
are most beautifully pebbled, and mantled in green, 


20 


THE OOLDEN LAHDER. 


which could not fail to charm the senses of the 
most fastidious traveler. 

“ So many varieties of fruits are seldom found in 
a country town. Nothing, or rather, no place could 
be more delightful than this charming spot, which, 
in fact, contains only about two thousand inhabit- 
ants. It has two principal streets, ‘Back,’ and 
‘Front.’ There are cross-streets, but your father 
lived in one of the most elegant houses in town, 
situated just upon the hill, on ‘ Back’ street. We 
preferred this quiet locality, being both fond of re- 
tirement. 

“ No one could behold this little town and refuse 
to admire its picturesque beauty. Nature had been 
lavish in its gifts, and hoar Ocean lent his sublime 
majesty to enhance the glories of the scene. The 
Garden of Eden must have been well stocked wdth 
shrubberies and fruit-trees, to give the gardener 
constant employment. Honeysuckle and clematis 
perfumed white, sparkling, serpentine walks, shaded 
by many different kinds of trees. I have heard 
that there is a hybridal production farther south, 
which possesses animal life. Although rooted in the 
ground like a plant, its stem and leaves exactly re- 
semble the body of a locust. 

“Even the court-yards at Drummondtown were 
mantled with beautiful verdure, as though the mossy 


Drummond Toavn, Accomac Co.. Ya., the Birthplace of Annah 









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4 


WIDOW AND SON. 


21 


grass had been transplanted from the mountains of 
Vermont to Virginia. 

“ Ah ! my son, those were happy days. Your 
father possessed several plantations, a mansion in 
town, a store, and large manufacturing interests. 
He enjoyed great prosperity ; he was rather extrav- 
agant, having been cradled in luxury ; but Fabian, 
your father, was addicted to no kind of dissipation, 
and, my dear boy, he was a ” she stopped in- 

voluntarily, and the words died upon her lips. 

“Why do you not explain yourself, mother? 
Why this pause ? Surely you have always spoken 
to me of him in the most exalted terms.” 

“ At a future day, my son, I will tell you all ; but 
now do not question me.” 

“ Proceed, mother,” said the lad dolefully. 

“ Your grandfather was a rich man, and, although 
he had five daughters, yet the only son was his es- 
pecial pet — this only son was your own dear father. 
Nevertheless, Fabian was not a spoiled child ; his 
talents were of a superior order. Well, after twelve 
months had passed, your eldest sister, Sissie Annah, 
as you used to call her so sweetly, was born. God 
bless her ! I think I see her now. Her head was 
covered with the most beautiful light curls, and she 
grew up healthy in mind and body. Whenever your 
noble father returned from New York or Philadel- 


22 


THE GOLDEN LADDER, 


pliia, after an absence of some weeks, she always 
endeavored to be the first to greet him and 
wish him welcome home ; and gladly would he 
caress her in return, for she was the gem of the 
household. 

One day she had been punished, and she told 
her papa ; he kissed away her tears and gave her a 
beautiful present, so she forgot her trouble. I men- 
tion these trivial circumstances to show how well I 
know Annah’s history. Let me see ; I was only 
about fifteen years of age when your father was 
married to his first wife. He became my guardian, 
and she always called me ‘ Cousin Mary.’ But, 
alas ! after your father’s death the lambs were soon 
scattered from the fold ! Annah was very fond of 
history ; she excelled in every branch of literature, 
but historical events were her delight. She soon 
importuned her father for the biographies of Napo- 
leon Bonaparte, Cromwell, Christopher Columbus ; 
in short, she was conversant with Plutarch, Virgil, 
and Horace among the ancients, and with every 
modern historian and chronologist.” 

Here the narrator, or rather the desultory talker, 
mused for a few moments with her chin resting in 
one fair hand. Andrew thought that he saw in her 
soft blue eyes bright and sad reminiscences of the 
past. He prepared himself to receive a new and 


WIDOW AND SON 


23 


precious fund of information, when his mother sud- 
denly exclaimed : 

“ You are the living image of your father, my 
son, and I do sincerely hope that you may be a 
good — ” She paused again and changed her con- 
versation. 

“ A what ?” asks Andrew. 

“ Ah ! never mind, my boy. Time will unfold 
many things which are now mysterious.’* 

“ Why, mother,” said the youth, “ how strangely 
you talk. Whenever you speak of my father, you 
suddenly stop and will not explain yourself.” 

“ Time — time, my child, is all I want. It is not 
advisable always to tell all we know ; however, I am 
sorry for your sake that I have not your father’s 
daguerreotype, for a very sufficient reason, that when 
he was alive sun-pictures were not so common. I 
had but one small one, which was broken and fell 
from the case and was lost. Oh, my dear ! thou- 
sands of dollars would I give for a likeness of him 
now. He was such a good man ; so devoted to 
his — ” Another pause. “ I wish I could forget 
him ; but impossible. No, never ! never ! When 
Daguerre first talked of fixing an image, his niece 
concluded that the great philosopher was crazy. 
What an invention, truly, was this ! yet the photo- 
graph is superior and much more durable, and when 


24 


TEE OOLBEE LADDER. 


we gaze upon even the reflected features of those 
we love, how happy we are ! It raises our drooping 
spirits, as we pass through the scenes of adversity 
which so many people are subject to during life, to 
view such pleasant reminders of erstwhile prosper- 
ous days. When Napoleon the First was in his 
mother’s arms on the island of Corsica, no vision of 
the barren rocks of St. Helena visited his imagina- 
tion ; so you see, my son, that this is a world of 
change. I will refer to your father again, as he 
spoke of his little jewel ; this, my son, was your 
Sissie Annah. Even his executor was importuned 
to see that his daughter, Annah Foy, was properly 
educated and cared for, and your uncle. Colonel 
Clifton, who was appointed to that position, prom- 
ised your anxious father to be faithful. He gave 
many instructions relative to her, previous to his 
death, and he also implored me to watch over her ; 
but circumstances were such, that it became impos- 
sible for me to strictly obey that behest. 

“ I will speak to you again at some other time,’* 
concluded the gentle-minded lady ; and Andrew 
withdrew, hoping at some future day his mother 
would reveal the secret connected with his father’s 
life. 

When* children lose such a parent as Fabian Foy 
was universally acknowledged to be, then they be- 


WIDOW AND SON 


25 


come conscious of the worth of the one they have 
lost. There are some children almost if not quite as 
well off without fathers as with them. Such was not 
the case in the family of our heroine. Months of 
affliction were endured, the chain was sundered, and 
with it the holy links of love destined to separate 
these children. ‘‘ The jewel” was a pet name given 
to Annah by her father, when a babe ; therefore she 
retained it, more or less, for many long years in her 
family. 


CHAPTEE III. 


annah’s rival. 



^UE readers will have to watch the move- 
ments of our heroine, as astronomers watch 
the revolutions of a radiant star, partially 


eclipsed ; when the occupation is over, our 
jewel perhaps may blaze forth with celestial glory, 
like one of those that adorned the breast-plate of 
Aaron. We will now return to the young wife, as 
she is all alone. 

Annah endeavored to be happy. She thought 
that she could be ; a'pparently there was nothing to 
render her otherwise. She was very domestic. 
Heretofore she had been devoted to books ; house- « 
keeping cares were, therefore, something novel and 
pleasing ; and then it was like a new existence to 
escape from the tyranny of her harsh and mercenary 
Aunt Betsey. At this time her husband appeared 
to be exceedingly attached to her. It would, per- 
haps, have been scarcely possible for a human being 
to be otherwise. When Annah Foy became the wife 
of Marcellus Morgan she was a rare specimen of the 
perfection attainable by the human family. 


ANNAEUS RIVAL. 


27 


Knowing lierself to be a wife, and thinking that she 
might become a mother, she endeavored to enjoy the 
good and reconcile herself to all that was unpleasant. 
She often thought of Adrian ; but, believing him to 
be false, stifled every emotion of her soul, to love 
Morgan and be all to him that she had promised at 
God’s altar. 

The parents of Marcellus were wealthy, but mer- 
cenary. They applauded the exquisite neatness of 
Annah’s menage, and her strict attention to her 
household duties ; but they bitterly condemned what 
they styled her extravagance. They filled the 
neighborhood with complaints in this regard. Annah 
was also forced to perceive the penuriousness of her 
husband. She could not fail to hear in what manner 
his parents condemned her, and it rendered her very 
unhappy. Dreading to be the cause of contention, 
she endeavored to manage affairs in a manner pleas- 
ing to his lordship and his relatives. But one who 
seeks to please many has the hardest of task- 
masters. 

A week after the marriage of Annah, her husband 
received from her guardian the property belonging 
to his wife. She never knew in what manner it was 
applied. Once she ventured to make some inquiries 
in regard to what was so justly her own— left her 
by the best of fathers ; but the manner in which she 


28 


TEE GOLDEN LADDER. 


was answered discouraged, nay intimidated, lier from 
erer making a second attempt. 

Morgan in a short time became very cruel to her. 
Had she been of the same mould as himself, perhaps 
he would have treated her differently. As it was, he 
could not forgive her superiority in every respect. 
This is one of the greatest banes to happiness in 
married life. A refined, intellectual woman, tied for 
life to a man in every way her inferior, is a far more 
wretched and more pitiable object than the most 
superior of men to the most inferior wife can ever 
be. What, on this head, says the shrewd Briton, 
whp astonishes us with his delineations of character 
and caustic wit ? 

“ Much of the quarrels and hatred which arise be- 
tween married people come, in my mind, from the 
husband’s rage and revolt at his discovering that she 
who is to minister to all his wishes, and is church- 
sworn to honor and obey him — is his superior ; and 
that 7ie, and not she, ought to be the subordinate of 
the twain.” And in these controversies, we think, 
lay the cause of Morgan’s anger against his lady. 
When he. left her, she began to think for herself, 
and her thoughts were not in his favor. After the 
illumination, when the love-lamp is put out that 
anon we spoke of, and by common daylight you 
look at the picture, what a daub it looks 1 What a 


ANNAWS RIVAL. 


29 


clumsy effigy 1 How many men and women come to 
this knowledge, think you ! And if it bo painful for 
a woman to find herself wedded for life to a man 
and ordered to love and honor a dullard, it is worse 
still for the man himself, perhaps, whenever in his 
dull comprehension the idea dawns that this wife is 
in truth his superior, that the woman who does his 
bidding and submits to his humors should be his 
lord, that she can think a thousand things beyond 
his muddled brain, and that in the fair head pillowed 
on his breast lie a thousand feelings, mysteries of 
thought, latent scorns and rebellions, whereof he 
dimly perceives the existence, as they look out fur- 
tively from her eyes. Treasures of love doomed to 
perish without a hand to gather them ; sweet fancies 
and images of beauty that would grow and unfold 
themselves into flower ; bright wit that would shine 
like diamonds, could it be brought to the sun ; yet 
the tyrant in possession, crushes the outbreak of all 
these, drives them back like slaves into the dungeon 
and darkness, and chafes without that his superior 
is rebellious, and his sworn subject undutiful and 
refractory. 

But alas ! Ann ah was not refractory — she was now 
married, and too well she knew her duty to shrink 
from the execution thereof. The fine flower-parterre 
at Poplar Hill became the chosen retreat and consol- 


30 


THE GOLDEN LADDEB. 


atorj refuge of the disappointed and crushed young 
creature. The morning and the evening sun beheld 
her there ; each flower was a well-known friend ; 
there she often mused upon the wishes of her aunt, 
and wondered how people could sacrifice so much 
for Gold, and the thought of the future often made 
her tremble. 

“ A change came o’er the spirit of ” the choice, 
and Annah’s moody husband was seized with a fit 
of sociability. She, already accustomed to his ex- 
hibitions of absurd caprice, ceased to wonder at 
aught she saw or heard, and prepared to do, unceas- 
ingly and without a murmur, her duty. 

“ Now came another sort of life — 

And every evening ball or rout” 

In a modified manner, Annah applied these lines to 
this new phase of her brief married experience, re- 
calling, at the same time, some others that had once 
made her smile at their unaffected egotism. 

“ Through all this weary world, in brief, 

Who ever sympathized with grief 
Or shared my joy, my sole relief? 

Myself!” 

Our heroine, for a time, felt the relief afforded by 
the excitement of this hospitable change in the role 
of the penurious family. Not a day elapsed without 
some social recreation. Mrs. Morgan beheld with 


ANNAH'8 RIVAL. 


31 


wonder her husband in a new light ; she had not 
known that it was in him to be so courteously agree- 
able. 

Although a woman may not be in love with her 
husband, nay, may not even love him (for to be in 
love and to love are two very different cases), yet 
her heart may throb painfully at the idea of a rival. 

Among the first to welcome the bride to her new 

habitation was Lucre tia L . The eyes of Lucre- 

tia were blue, her chin that of a Bacchante, her 
nose aquiline, her forehead low, her complexion that 
of a lily, her figure that of a Juno. In a casual 
observer, perhaps, her lofty, commanding 'personnel 
w^ould inspire awe rather than warm admiration. 

Poplar Hill seemed to be no strange abode to this 
mysterions inmate. When she honored that place 
with her presence — which, in fact, had become a 
circumstance so frequent as to cause her absence a 
thing to be remarked — she issued commands for her 
comfort like one who felt herself to be at home. 
Her bewildering eyes seemed to hold frequent and 
mysterious converse with the cunning, serpent-eyes 
of Marcellus. Mrs. Morgan felt uneasy, and her 
lone heart asked herself the question that delicacy 
forbade her lips to frame to her husband, “ Who and 
what was this woman ? Whither came she, and 
wherefore was she here?” This, as weU as the 


32 


THE GOLDEN LADDER. 


character of the man whom she had married, was 
still beyond the comprehension of Annah. 

One evening the parlor was filled with dancers. 
Annah stood within the deep embrasure of a win- 
dow ; beside her reclined her husband upon an ot- 
toman. He lazily watched the waltzers. Lucre tia 
floated past in the embrace of her partner. She 
shot a glance at the supine host ; his eyes followed 
her. Half unconsciously he murmured, “ By the 
living gods, some such dhinity must have inspired 
Prior when he wrote : 

‘ Ringlets of pearl gave roundness to her arm, 

And every gem augmented every charm 1’ ” 

This look and the tell-tale intonation of his deep 
voice, sent ‘‘ a shaft of light” into the brain of An- 
nah ; she felt as if an icy arrow had cleft her heart. 
She had seated herself ; involuntarily she arose ; 
but Marcellus, encircling her waist with his arm, 
drew her, not ungently, back again. His penetrating 
eyes for an instant studied her face ; he imagined 
that he saw therein something to flatter his self- 
love. 

“ What ! already jealous ?” he whispered, with a 
sarcastic sneer, which he endeavored, but ineffect- 
ually, to conceal. “ My beloved Jewel forgets the 
wish she expressed only yesterday, ‘ that her hus- 


ANNAEUS RIVAL. 


33 


band was as renowned a warrior as Alexander.’ 
Per Baccho r — Mr. Morgan was unable to express 
himself without expletives — ‘‘I feel as great va pos- 
sessing a Eoxana and a Statira !” 

‘‘ What do you mean, Mr. Morgan ?” asked An- 
nah, faintly. 

“ Softly, mio carissimo /” returned Morgan. Then, 
affecting a sanctimonious manner, he asked : “ Is 
my lady-wife well versed in Scripture ?” 

“ With its spirit, not its mere letter,” replied the 
disconcerted Annah, scarce knowing what she uttered. 

“Was not Abraham a righteous man?” 

“ Who doubts it, Mr. Morgan ?” 

“Not I!” replied he sneeringly. “He was wise 
withal! By-the-by, how many hand-maidens did 
Sarah allow the great patriarch ?” 

“ Mr. Morgan, permit me to retire, if you please ; 
I dislike this conversation.” 

“ Pshaw I” retorted Morgan. “I feel an irresist- 
ible inclination to test your biblical knowledge. 
Was not Jacob a holy man to serve old Laban so 
long and faithfully for the sake of two women, who 
hotli became his wives? King David did not hesi- 
tate to place his friend in the front of the battle, 
when he took a fancy to the Captain’s dame ; and 
the wdsest of the sons of men kept a harem like the 
Grand Sultan.” 


2 * 


34 


THE GOLDEN LADDEE, 


“Mr. Morgan, the drift of your remarks is unin- 
telligible to me. Could you not choose a different 
subject, if we must converse ?” 

“I have done for the present,” he answered, 
roughly pushing her away ; then, rising, he saun- 
tered through the crowd. When, his wife next saw 
him, he was threading the mazy waltz, with Lucretia 
clasped in his bold embrace. 

Mrs. Morgan could not help hearing the inuendoes 
with which the various guests interlarded their con- 
versations. She could not help seeing the glances 
which were directed toward herself, and at the 
couple then gyrating on the floor. Commiserating 
glances were bestowed upon her, and meaning looks 
and covert smiles abounded whenever Lucretia’s 
name was mentioned. That night Morgan’s passion 
seemed to have reached its climax. Pure and gentle 
as was his wife, that night her scintillating eyes be- 
stowed upon him a glance that he never forgot. 

On the following morning Morgan affected uncon- 
sciousness of what had passed the previous evening. 
He met his wife with the blandest smiles, expressing 
profound regrets for her pale and languid appear- 
ance. He complained also of a tedious headache, 
saying, with an air of contrition, that he had taken 
rather too much wine the previous night. He sipped 
his coffee, and read, or pretended to read, the paper. 


AmAH'S RIVAL. 


35 


Mrs. Morgan glanced at him ; she thought of the 
storm-clouds that darkened the sunny sky on her 
bridal more, and she shuddered. The spoon she 
had carried half-way to her lips, fell from her nerve- 
less hand, striking the delicate Chinese porcelain 
breakfast-cup and breaking it into pieces. 

“ You are nervous !” said Marcellus, with un- 
wonted kindness of manner, while he inwardly won- 
dered how far his wife was really aware of the 
extent of his shameful conduct on the previous 
evening. Ah ! she knew far more than he dreamed, 
far too much for her peace of mind ; she could 
almost have wished herself the simpleton her hus- 
band seemed to imagine her to be. Yet she spoke 
steadily, and with consummate grace and dignity. 

“ Mr. Morgan, I regret that circumstances compel 
me to say such words, but that person whom you 
term Lucretia, must quit this house.” 

“ She has already left it, Mrs. Morgan,” remarked 
Marcellus, nonchalantly; then, lightly humming a 
popular air, he sauntered out of the room. The 
wronged wife was incredulous; but several days 
rolled on, and the beguiling syren still remained 
absent. The evenings became again quiet ; the en- 
tertainments ceased altogether ; the harp was mute 
on Tara’s walls;” the banquet-halls were indeed 
deserted. 


36 


THE GOLDEN LADDEK 


Marcellus became again silent, and daily grew 
more and more taciturn and morose. 

Again Annah turned to Nature for companionship 
and consolation ; again the garden was continually 
haunted with her gentle presence, and with her own 
delicate hands she often worked, and watered her 
flowers ; and the shrubbery at Poplar Hill was quite 
sufficient to dispel all sad moments, if it were pos- 
sible to do so. 


CHAPTEE IV. 


CHANGING BASE. 

heroine was too pure to even yet 
‘W^W comprehend the baseness of her 

husband’s character. The sacredness of 
the marriage tie, he mocked at. The 
money which Annah possessed, not her talent, 
goodness, and beauty, had been the bait that had 
lured the heartless roue into matrimony. The 
chains already galled him ; he longed for his lost 
liberty. 

As a married man, he owed a duty to society, 
which that peculiar institution never thinks of 
claiming from a celibate. 

He could hardly refrain from an audible oath 
whenever his glance rested upon the ring of gold 
which encircled the slender finger of Annah’s left 
hand, although it was much inferior to Adrian’s 
gift. His fits of passion and moroseness became 
so frequent, that to her they suggested hereditary 
insanity. She, herself, could scarcely credit some 
scenes through which she passed, and, in reaction, 
the plausibility of her husband would almost per- 


38 


THE GOLDEN LADDER. 


suade her to the conclusion that she had been 
dreaming. 

One night he locked her in a small unlighted 
room, where he had chanced to find her indulging 
in the “luxury of woe” — tears. In some moods 
these maddened him, and as their conversation had 
not been of the most agreeable character just prior 
to this, as Lucretia’s visits had been the theme, 
he was more than usually angry. 

As Annah sat in the dark room, musing on what 
had passed between herself and Marcellus, she 
heard a footstep, that she instinctively knew was 
her husband’s, approach the door — then the key 
was gently turned in the lock and Morgan retreated 
as silently as he had advanced. Annah’s prison 
was a sort of off-room, a receptacle for all sorts of 
odds and ends, to which she had fled that night, 
expecting to remain undiscovered ; but her jailor 
had found her out. Annah was timid, and impen- 
etrable darkness universally reigned. She threw 
herself upon an old lounge and anxiously watched 
for the dawn, until her eyelids ached with inter- 
mittent slumbering symptoms. At length nature 
triumphed, and she slept profoundly. On the fol- 
lowing morning the door was opened by Morgan. 
His evil eyes twinkled when he met his composed 
wife at the breakfast-table. He had opened the 


CHAmiNO BASE. 


89 


cage, and had found the bird quiet. He had no 
notion that she possessed so brave a spirit. 

That day a carriage drove up to the door. Annah 
beheld Lucretia reclining among the cushions. She 
was clad in deep mourning. Handing a note to the 
servant, she gave orders to drive on, and again dis- 
appeared from the astonished gaze of Mrs. Morgan. 
The note, to the amazement of the mistress of the 
house, was addressed to herself. It ran thus : 

“ Madam I sincerely regret the thoughtless con- 
duct of Mr. Morgan, and, believe me, have more 
than once severely lectured him. upon his gross 
dereliction of courtesy to a young and lovely wife, 
I am on the eve of departure on a long journey. 
We shall, probably, never meet again. Permit 
me, then, to take this opportunity of wishing you 
many, many years of health and happiness ; and, 
moreover, to add that I trust your husband will 
profit from my salutary admonitions. 

“ Lucretia.” 

The note fell from the hands of the’ astonished 
wife. “Was there ever before such a piece of 
audacity ?” she asked herself. 

That evening, Annah stood beside a window 
watching the stars; wandering meteors and fire- 
flies gleamed in the dark-blue atmosphere, so much 


40 


THE GOLDEN LADDER. 


resembling each other that it seemed almost impos- 
sible to distinguish them. 

“Ah!” she exclaimed, unconscious that she 
thought aloud, “ thus inexperienced maidens are 
deceived in men, mistaking for heavenly bodies 
mere falling stars, or ephemeral phosphorescent 
exhalations.” Thus a sadness came over her, and 
she thought of Adrian, then far away. 

“You will soon enjoy an opportunity of studying 
the stars under a new aspect,” said a harsh voice 
beside her. 

Turning, she beheld her husband. She asked 
no questions ; well knowing that they would most 
likely remain unanswered ; that the gentleman would 
not speak until it so suited his whim. It so hap- 
pened that it pleased him to open his oracular lips 
speedily, and briefly. 

“ I have purchased a plantation, Annah, and you 
may prepare for a removal. I am sick of Poplar 
Hill,” he said. 

That was the amount of the information deigned 
to Mrs. Morgan in regard to the projected change 
of abode. She asked no questions, and no one 
volunteered instruction. It seemed that Mar- 
cellus had been for some time looking for a farm, 
and he had just closed his bargain on the very 
morning his fair damsel left. This beautiful place 


CHANGINO BASE. 


41 


was situated on the banks of the Happahannock. 
His family, accordingly, were removed. The loca- 
tion was very pleasant. The house, a large three- 
story building erected on an eminence, commanded 
an extensive view of water, hill, and dale. That 
romantic spot might well have been hailed as the 
garden of the country. 

Annah, upon arriving at her new abode, fostered 
hopes of enjoying some tranquillity. She imagined 
that the same pride which she fancied had dictated 
this removal into a strange place, would prevent 
Morgan from committing himself so far as to incur 
public obloquy here, as had already been the case 
elsewhere. The unhappy wife anticipated a blessed 
immunity from future miseries, and, for a while, her 
expectations were realized. 

The dreaded scrutiny of curious neighbors ren- 
dered Morgan sufficiently cautious not to hazard an 
expose of family difficulties in that part of the State ; 
but after Lucretia left the neighborhood, Morgan 
was unhappy. He affected an urbanity of demeanor 
that so far encouraged our heroine, that, after the 
expiration of several months, she began to experience 
a sense of security. She became thoroughly domes- 
ticated, while botany and horticulture served as 
intellectual recreations. She even planted an odor- 
iferous shrubbery,, and edged with her own delicate 


42 


THE OOLHEH LADEEB. 


hands the mathematically-shaped parterres, luxu- 
riantly enameled with every rare flower of native 
beauty, while in the greenhouse flourished exotics 
of surpassing loveliness. Every undulating, or 
serpentine path was tastefully pebbled with an 
artistic finish resembling mosaic work. 

Although the roof of the building was red, at 
a short distance the whole elevated structure 
appeared like a palace of glittering white marble. 
On entering the vestibule, and elaborately orna- 
mented apartments, the most ordinary persons were 
enchanted. The conservatory, teeming with count- 
less fragrant blossoms, vied with oriental floral 
redundancy. The magnificent parlors, decorated 
and furnished sumptuously, where friends and 
neighbors often met under the hospitable roof of 
an ostentatious Virginian planter. 

Eevehng in reckless profusion, Marcellus seldom 
vented his spleen upon Annah, who was ever ready 
to conceal any ebullition of his temper, which could 
never be suppressed for many hours together. A 
good wife is always ready to smother in her own 
gentle bosom, not only the indiscretion, but even 
the guilt of a husband — his degradation is no glory 
to her. We need not marvel, then, at the submis- 
sion of a lovely, talented woman, endowed with an 
enviable reputation. Annah compassionately argued 


CHANOim BASE. 


43 


that her troubles were caused by the animal rather 
than the man, 

Harley’s description of the creation of man, is 
beautifully original, and suggestive of many rational 
deductions. According to this author’s theory, every 
human being possesses two distinct spirits, one of 
light, the other of darkness — Good and Evil. All 
pure thoughts and actions are inspired by the 
* “ Holy of Holies.” All that is impure, mean, ava- 
ricious and sensual emanates from the fallen one. 

Thus, in Marcellus, whatever redeeming points 
he possessed were all counteracted by the demon 
within. The diabolical influence of such a being 
upon a susceptible, refined, too sensitive, and highly 
nervous spirit could not fail to be wretched in the 
extreme. 

Morgan could not wear the mask for any length 
of time. Occasionally the wicked part of his 
nature would predominate, and gross advances to 
modest ladies, too modest to complain, gradually 
depopulated the avenues of Fashion, as the various 
broad roads leading to Morgan’s mansion had been 
facetiously styled. As the excitement of a new 
residence and new faces subsided, so the cloven 
foot began to show itself. Eventually Annah’s new 
Eden wilted to a desert, a flowery region was trans- 
formed into an arid Sahara. 


THE GOLDEN LADDER 


M 

Mungo Park was not more isolated in the 
unknown solitudes of Africa than was Annah Mor- 
gan among the deserted groves of Oak Lawn. The 
picturesque plantation lost every charm, when sym- 
metrical forms and smiling faces no longer glad- 
dened the sight. Annah was fast becoming too 
much disheartened to endeavor to preserve its 
beauty only to grace a solitude. 

Kolzbue, the German philosopher, truly observed, 
The people, and not the place, inspire emotions of 
indelible delight.” 

The Baptist church had years before received 
Annah as a member. The sanctimonious Pilate 
Patter, who had married Mrs. Mary Foy, the 
second wife of Annah’s father, presumed to censure 
Mrs. Morgan’s love of gay apparel — as if all people 
were bound to wear the Jesuit livery, because he 
did ; viz., a stiff white cravat, and a black domino. 
There is decidedly, at all times, a very black appear- 
ance about some “ pale faces,” as the American 
Indian would term our whitened sepulchres. We 
would not dare whisper a word against ministers 
of the Gospel, for we know there are good men 
among this class ; but, at the same time, there are 
the basest hypocrites, and Mrs. Mary Foy, Annah’s 
kind stepmother, was so unfortunate as to marry 
such a man. 


CHANGING BASE. 


45 


Thus we find Annah musing on the past and 
present, secreted in a forsaken arbor, over-clouded 
with the fragrant wild jessamine. She at times 
would remain motionless for hours, meditating upon 
her father. The rural beauties of Locust Grove, in 
her appreciation, far excelled the romantic splendor 
of Morgan’s new plantation. 

What charms would the enchanted estate have 
possessed for Beauty, if the Prince had always 
remained a Beast ? 

She, of whom we write, was even denied the 
consolation derivable from books. The petty des- 
pot studied to afflict her mind, and undermine her 
health. He considered that the world contained no 
works superior to Jack Sheppard, Dick Turpin, 
Claude Duval, Fistiana, or the 3Ianly Art of Self- 
Defense, and certain not-to-be-mentioned publica- 
tions in yellow paper covers. 

Mrs. Morgan could by stealth enjoy her favorite 
authors, Plato, Homer, Yirgil, Addison, Milton, 
Shakespeare, Bulwer, Dickens, and many other 
ancient and modern mediums through whom the 
immortal spirit of genius never ceases to commune 
with mankind. 

The trapper, Marcellus, would lie in wait like a 
fox, to watch whether Annah received any mental 


46 


TEE GOLDEN LADDER. 


elixir. But his wife was ever acute, and always 
contrived to baffle his vigilance; so Morgan was 
completely astonished to hear from others of the 
learning his wife possessed. 


CHAPTER V. 


KISSING THE EOD. 



^jjto^ESPITE the ancestral dignity pertain- 
ing to the Morgan family, Morgan had 
^ been brought up, with his obtuse brothers 


and sisters, to obtain the advantage over 
every one whom it was possible they could; to 
change cents into dimes, dimes into dollars, and 
dollars into eagles, honestly or dishonestly, which- 
ever way proved most profitable. He was one of 
the admirers of the Golden Ladder, and there are 
thousands of others of the same type. 

Had Marcellus been enlightened by education, 
Annah imagined that his character would have 
improved ; consequently she pitied him, and en- 
dured a martyrdom, hoping ultimately to hail his 
reformation. A knowledge of human nature would 
have convinced her that education only renders an 
inherent knave more subtle and refined in cruelty. 
We have many examples of such erudite monsters 
among the Roman Emperors, Popes, Kings, and 
Jesuists, who, with the additional panoply of a mock 
religion, have subverted morality and independence. 


48 


THE GOLDEN LADDER. 


Annah being naturally energetic, it was not in 
the power of Morgan to subdue her vivid* imagina- 
tion. The broken-hearted Byron, ridiculed by a 
heartless mother for a natural deformity, sought, 
among the wild scenery of creation, spiritual con- 
solation. The spirit of creation responded, and 
imbued his glorious mind with her divine mysteries. 
Thus Annah imbibed from the same source similar 
alleviation. 

Morgan’s low practical jokes were sometimes too 
much for human endurance, and what he frequently 
commenced in a spirit of tantalizing ferocity, often 
ended in a cruel exhibition of power. One day, as 
Mrs. Morgan entered her room on a return from 
a visit to a sick friend, she beheld Marcellus sitting 
at the window, as though he had been watching for 
her. An angry frown rested upon his brow. He 
spoke in a bombastic style. 

“ Oh verily, ma chere ami, thou hast not been 
sufficiently baptized ; and, as to-morrow is church- 
day, what is efficacious once must prove so a second 
time,” he cried, and he dashed the contents of a foot- 
bath over her. His only excuse for such vile conduct 
was that Annah had made too long a visit to her 
sick friend, and had not returned in time to head 
the supper -table. Faint from fatigue, she suffered 
severely from so . unexpected an immersion, and'% 


KISSmO THE ROD. 


49 


shivered from agitation as much as from the effects 
of the water. 

“ This is the cure,” said he, which they use 
up North — cold water cure !” — and, seeing Annah 
shivering, he continued: “You look cold, my lady, 
as though this cure did not agree with you, and as 
they are going to free all the slaves, we are to be 
drawers of water and hewers of wood, so you may 
as well learn to make a fire and dry your sweet self. 
I see this bath does not agree with your ladyship ; 
yet it is good to circulate your blood.” 

Mrs. Morgan moved away noiselessly, and retiring 
to her dressing-room, wrapped herself in a heavy, 
thick shawl and threw herself upon a lounge. Well 
she knew that all was not over, and useless was it to 
contend with her heartless tormentor. 

Morgan was absent but a moment ; when he 
returned, he bore in his hand such u ivliip as he 
used for his slaves. ‘‘Up, up, madam,” cried the 
furious man. She did not move ; indeed, she could 
not have done so had her life depended upon loco- 
motion. Seizing her by the arm, he dragged her 
from the lounge and threw her violently upon the 
floor. What he would have done next, God only 
knows, had not a loud knocking, and the voice of 
gay laughter in another part of the house, attracted 
his attention. The curiosity of the monster was 
3 


60 


THE GOLDEN LADDER. 


excited to discover who would dare to laugh with- 
out permission in his house, and, after a moment’s 
hesitation, during which the noise increased, he 
strode angrily off, forgetting to lock the door, 
and only stopping to mutter, with a horrible 
oath : 

“Lie there, madam, and I’ll finish you when I 
return.” 

Annah had been stunned by her fall, and it was 
some moments before she was able to stir ; but fear 
restored the use of her faculties, which she at once 
concentrated upon one frantic effort to escape. 
With a silent prayer to the God of the fatherless, 
she sped from the room. How she succeeded in 
getting out of the house, she could never distinctly 
recollect ; but instinct seemed to take the place of 
reason. On, on she sped, swift and sure as the 
bird that escapes from its cage into air and liberty 
Annah rushed onward, until she had reached the 
shelter of the forest. The air was damp and 
chilly; the sky was dark; the night was desolate, 
and desolate as death was her young heart. On, on 
she went, whither she knew not, cared not, only let 
her escape from the demon she had left behind. 
On, on — until, at last, overcome with terror and ex- 
haustion, she sank down beside a fallen tree, unable 
to move further ; unable to think, and, indeed, 


KlSSim mE ROD. 


61 


scarcely caring what became of her — scarcely 
conscious. 

She was aroused from the lethargy that was 
stealing over her, by a superhuman wailing that 
sounded close to her ear ; her very heart stood still 
with fear. Something — she was too horror-stricken 
to perceive that it was an owl, the bird of night — 
something flapped its cold wings in her face; a 
feeling of helpless horror crept over her, as she 
recollected the proximity of her hiding-place to the 
graveyard, whose marble monuments had become 
dimly visible to her eyes, now grown accustomed to 
the darkness. In vain she attempted to rise ; her 
extremities were benumbed with cold, from the 
effects of the damp night air, after having been 
deluged with water. Cold drops of perspiration 
oozed from her pores and stood in dewy beads upon 
her pallid brow. She wished, oh ! how she wished, 
that she could faint away and remain forever insen- 
sible to the horrors around her ! 

“ Oh, was I but born for this ? What to me is 
life? Father, mother, help! help your dying 
child 1” faintly murmured the broken-hearted wo- 
man. She believed that their sainted forms were 
near her, that they were her guardian angels, and, 
at a future day, she would be liberated from Mor- 
gan. 


52 THE GOLDEN LADDER. 

Gradually a feeling of indignation entered her 
heart, as she reflected that the man who assumed 
the character of her protector was, probably, at that 
moment reposing upon a bed of down ; that even 
the slaves were all tranquilly slumbering in their 
little cabins, while she, houseless, alone, was ex- 
posed to peril. The dread of passing the night in 
the woods at last overcame her fear of her husband, 
and, knowing from experience that his frenzy had 
probably by this time expended itself, slowly and 
painfully she made her way back to the house. She 
succeeded in effecting a noiseless entrance, and, in 
a distant room, sought repose for her chilled and 
weary limbs. 

Let the most romantic maiden contemplate for a 
moment the events related in this most authentic 
narrative — contrast the days of courtship with the 
realities of matrimony. Oh, ye fair daughters of 
America ! only make use of those charmed faculties 
you possess of optical power, and scrutinize the idol 
closely before you blindly fall down and worship it. 
Test the worth of thy wooer, analyze his moral and 
intellectual developments. Eemember, oh, remem- 
ber, all that depends upon your choice. Eemember 
that neither wealth nor heraldic honors are worthy 
to be considered as inducements to an intelligent 
and virtuous woman to part with her liberty for 


KISSim THE BOD. 


53 


life, to become the most degraded of slaves to a — 
what is it ? — a hideous nondescript — a lusus naturce 
quickened by the spirit of a foul fiend — a pretended 
man. 

If there be really any truth in the science of 
phrenology, examiue the head of the candidate; 
observe which mental circle of the brain is most 
fully developed. The mere animal protuberances, 
or, knowing faculties (characteristic of the low 
Hibernian) forming a vast periphery of excresences 
in which destructiveness, ama^tiveness, and alimen- 
tiveness are most conspicious. There! we have a 
cast of Morgan’s headpiece. A correct phreno- 
logical chart of a suitor’s cerebral organs is as 
necessary to a young girl as charts are to travelers 
in strange countries. 

That very gentlemanly decapitator of queens. 
King Henry the Eighth, could never have excelled 
Marcellus Morgan in doing things coolly. 

Besides, the royal Blue Beard always took good 
care to behead his partners upon strictly legal prin- 
ciples ; added to which, the conscientious monarch 
abhorred any approximation to concupiscence ; to 
avoid which, whenever he took a fancy to a new lady, 
he employed Cardinal Wolsey, or any other pander, 
to make a saint of his former wife — while he, out 
of motives of chastity. 


54 


THE GOLDEN LADDER. 


“ Made her a good woman, 

And cut off her head.” 

Marcejlus set law at defiance. His prototype 
could only have been found among sucb demoniacs 
as Dionysius, Caligula, Heliogablus, or Nana Sahib. 

As a lamb before its shearers is dumb, so Annah 
silently crept to the couch, which might have been 
truthfully termed a bed of torture. Like a moth 
fascinated by the fiame, or like a bird charmed by a 
serpent, the bewitched woman obeyed all her hus- 
band’s caprices. She entertained a bigoted belief 
in the despotic supremacy of a husband; just as 
©Id fogies in Great Britain argue about “ the Lord’s ‘ 
anointed,” that “ Kings can do no evil,” and many 
such unmeaning quaint sayings in which antiquated 
loyalists indulge. 

Although Mrs. Morgan had never romantically 
loved her husband, yet her self-respect was unshaken 
by his barbarity. She possessed that sacred talis- 
manic treasure — the most perfect boon that man 
can win under heaven — a loving heart. Annah’s 
would have responded to Moore’s rhapsodical stanza, 

“ Oh ! what was love made for, if ’tis not the same 
Thro’ joy and thro’ torment, thro’ glory and shame. 

I know not, I ask not, if guilt ’s in that heart, 

I but know that I love thee, whatever thou art.” 

All pusillanimous submission to tyranny is super- 
erogatory. Mrs. Morgan should have remembered 


KlSSmO THE BOB. 


55 


that respect, like charity, “begins at home,” and, 
also, that “self-preservation is the first law of 
nature.” She augmented her sufferings by “ kiss- 
ing the rod.” 


CHAPTEE YI. 


BENEVOLENCE. 



“AEY, the gentle, blue-eyed widow of Fa- 
bian Foy, had now been for some length 
of time the wife of Pilate Patter, a Baptist 
minister. Scarcely desiring to take again 


upon herself the bonds of matrimony, yet, as the 
second candidate persevered in his suit, her moral 
courage to say “ No,” was overcome by his impor- 
tunity. 

Mary’s son, Andrew, was the greatest comfort and 
happiness of her life. Brave and manly, he still re- 
tained the vivacity and affection of the boy, but his 
mother had learned to look upon him as a ihan. 
They still retained the habit of sitting beside each 
other in the summer twilight, or by the winter even- 
ing fire ; the bold boy affectionately listening to the 
mother’s conversation, not, perhaps, without some- 
times a mischievous sparkle of the eye. 

Once the lad expressed a desire that his mother 
would acquaint him further with the history of his 
family. 

“ Well, my son, as you are so anxious to hear more, 


BENEVOLENCE. 


57 


I will recite a circumstance wliicli once happened at 
a gentleman’s house. There was a plantation ro- 
mantically situated among hills, and bordering upon 
the sea-shore, where dwelt a worthy citizen. The 
crested waves of the dark-blue sea might be seen 
from the windows of this mansion, and the rolling 
surf seemed to sound a diapason to the Great Crea- 
tor who made the sea and all that therein is. The 
flood-gull dipped ever and anon into the blue bil- 
low, or, hovering over, seemed to watch the rush of 
the mighty waters upon the white shore, whose eter- 
nal sand appeared to say, ‘ Thy control stops here.’ 

“ Forest trees spread their foliage over the hill- 
side, shielding the grassy carpet from the too pene- 
trating rays of the sun. At one spot, a beautiful 
grove grew almost to the water’s edge. The weep- 
ing willow, the locust, and the sturdy cedar were 
there; each testifying to the power and glory of 
God. All the beauties of nature seemed there dis- 
played in the most luxuriant profusion. 

“ One morning in June, some years ago, the owner 
of this delightful spot might have been seen seated 
beneath a spreading oak. With eyes full of intelli- 
gent appreciation he watched the sun rising over 
the smiling scene. His pious heart sung a silent 
hymn in praise of the Giver of all good gifts. While 
thus meditating, he was disturbed by an approaching 
3 * 


68 


TEE GOLDEN LADDEB. 


footstep. Looking toward tlie spot from whence the 
sound proceeded, he beheld a man approaching. As 

he drew nearer, Mr. A perceived that he was a 

stranger, but nevertheless rose to meet him. They 
met each other, and the stranger smiled. Their eyes 
seemed to penetrate each other’s thoughts, and, in 
an instant, the hand of friendship was offered by 
each to the other. 

“ In that grasp of hands there were volumes to be 

read, which each one understood. Mr. A , the 

planter, then asked a few questions, which were 
readily answered by the stranger, who proved to be 
a native of New York in search of employment, and 

who, having heard that Mr. A was one of the 

most philanthropic citizens of the county, had taken 
the liberty to call upon him for advice and assist- 
ance. 

‘‘ The gentlemen walked together to the house, 
and the stranger was introduced to the family and 
requested to make himself perfectly at home. He 
gracefully bowed, and in appreciative language ac- 
knowledged his thanks, and also the fact that he had 
not yet breakfasted, although it was now after nine 
o’clock, and he had walked a long distance. Break- 
fast was immediately ordered by the hospitable mas- 
ter of the house, and Mr. Gowin did ample justice 
to the tempting viands spread before him. 


BENEVOLENCE. 


59 


**He was a tall man, with black hair and eyes, 
and a dark skin. His fine face gave evidence of 
intellect; in fact, he was a man of fine talents, 
although a mechanic in search of employment. 

“ When he had satisfied his appetite, Mr. A 

invited him to retire to a room to refresh himself 
with an ablution, or perhaps a nap, which offer was 
gladly accepted. Woman-like, no sooner had their 
guest disappeared than Mrs. A plied her hus- 

band with all manner of questions in regard to him. 

Mr. A curtly replied that his lady was to treat 

the gentleman well while he remained, and ask no 

more questions — a request Mrs. A immediately 

complied with by desiring to know how long the 

gentleman was to remain with them. Mr. A , 

in despair, summed up the whole matter by saying 
that the stranger was from New York, was in search 
of employment, which, if obtained, he would prob- 
ably leave immediately, and, if not, might be with 
them a long time. 

“‘Why did he, not go to a hotel, then?’ inquired 

the indefatigable Mrs. A . ‘I am sure we do 

not keep a public-house ?’ 

“ Mr. A loved his wife very much, and her 

seemingly mercenary predilections were all the 
faults he could find with her. When she thus 
spoke, Mr. A chided her for being so unwilling 


60 


TEE GOLDEN LADDER. 


to entertain strangers, and gave her such a keen 
rebuke, that she said no more. 

“All went on as usual for some days. The planter 
used his influence to obtain a situation for his new 
friend ; but it seemed there was no opening at that 
time in his line of business. Weeks rolled by, and 
Mr. Gowin could not succeed in procuring employ- 
ment ; but he was treated with all respect and 
courtesy. The planter seemed delighted with the 
society of his new acquaintance. They rode out in 
company, together they daily went fishing, sporting, 
or in search of amusement and instruction. Mr. 
Gowin declared that never before in his life had 
he so thoroughly enjoyed himself. Every morning 
and evening during the summer, the planter and 
his friend might be seen on the hill-side, where 
first they met. There were comfortable seats 
arranged beneath the trees, and no nook on the 
plantation seemed so cosy and so beautiful as this. 
In the morning the gentlemen would be there to 
behold the sun rise out of the bosom of the blue 
waters, to spread . his illuminating rays over land 
and sea, and there they listened to the sea-birds, 
and enjoyed the cooling zephyr as it came rustling 
through the green leaves. 

“ If you have ever wandered by the shores of the 
Atlantic, and viewed the ocean in all its grandeur, 


BENEVOLENCE. 


61 


you could better imagine than I can describe the 
scene I would fain paint in vivid words. At even- 
ing the stranger and his friend were again there, as 
though they were ambitious of astronomical erudi- 
tion. By moonlight they gazed on nature’s pano- 
rama, and owned that every twinkling star bore 
testimony of the Great Supreme. 

‘ Forever singing as they shine. 

The hand that made us is Divine '' 

that every rustling leaf spoke of a Power that man 
can never sufficiently comprehend ; yet whose ex- 
istence we' all acknowledge. 

“Many were the delightful and instructive mo- 
ments here passed by the friends. From beneath 
that umbrageous tree, all the surroundings seemed 
to be good; all they could behold of heaven and 
earth were but speaking evidences of the almighty 
power and goodness of Him who contrived, created, 
and upholds the vast machinery of the universe, 
from the tiniest flower to Orion, rising in the 
south, clothed in gigantic majesty ; from the veriest 
ball of earth to the sweet influences of the Pleiades 
and Charles’s Wain, there was evidence of God’s 
omnipotence. ’Twas there, on that enchanted 
mound, that our friends could call to mind more 
vividly the words of the Bible, where that holy 


62 


THE GOLDEN LADDER. 


book says : ‘ The heavens declare the glory of God, 
and the firmament showeth His handiwork.’ 

“Time flew on eagle’s pinions. Three months 
had elapsed, and the stranger had yet no employ- 
ment ; still there was no difference in the cordial 

conduct of Mr. A , though Mrs. A began 

to act strangely. She again commenced catechis- 
ing her husband as to the probable period of Mr. 
Go win’s stay. 

“ ‘ So long as he lives replied Mr. A , ‘ pro- 

vided he desires to remain, and cannot obtain 
employment.’ 

“ Mrs. A , looking rather cross, remarked : 

“ ‘ Why, surely, Mr. A , Mr. Gowin must be a 

brother in disguise. I once heard your mother say 
she had a son who went to sea, and never returned.* 

“ ‘ He is my brother,’ curtly replied Mr. A . 

“ ‘ Oh ! dear,’ exclaimed Mrs. A , all in a flutter, 

‘why did you not tell me so when he first came, 
husband, and teach the children to call him uncle ?’ 

“ ‘ Oh ! never mind about that,’ said the planter, 
smiling. ‘ The children seem to think a great deal 
of him even now.’ 

“ Mrs. A sat silent a few moments, as though 

musing upon what her husband had said ; then she 
remarked : 

“ ‘ No — he is not your brother ; you are only trying 


BENEVOLENCE. 


63 


to tease me. Because the strange man has been here 
so long, you really feel ashamed that you are robbing 
your children ; for I am afraid your unbounded 
charity will bring us all to poverty.’ 

“‘No, my wife,’ mildly replied Mr. A , ‘our 

charitable deeds will only build us up in this world 
and in the world which is to come. What was the 
last commandment our Saviour gave to the disciples ? 
was it not “ love one another ?” And you know, wife, 
faith, hope, and charity are indispensable. As our 
friend Mr. Gowin cannot obtain employment, it is 
our duty to be kind and assisting until fortune smiles 
upon him.’ 

“ ‘ And when may that be ?’ asked the wife, looking 
completely out of patience. 

“ Mr. A called his children together, and said 

to his wife : ‘ My dear, you love your children, do 
you not ?’ 

“ ‘ Certainly I do,’ replied the wife and mother, 
with a mingling of affection and asperity in her 
manner. 

“ ‘Well,’ said the planter, pointing to a little 
blue-eyed, curly-headed boy of about eight sum- 
mers, whom he knew his wife idolized, ‘ do you know 
what that child’s end is to be ?’ 

“ ‘ Of course not.’ 

“‘Well,’ continued the husband, with a grave 


64 


THE GOLDEN LADDER 


countenance, ‘when that boy shall have reached 
man’s estate, at any day or hour, he may need the 
hand of friendship. What is so uncertain as life? 
In a few years these bodies of ours may be moulder- 
ing into dust ;■ green grass may be growing over our 
graves, and a lettered tombstone be all to tell that 
such as we have been. As spirits are permitted to 
know and see what transpires in the material world, 
would you not bless the hand extended in kindness 
and assistance to one of your children ? This little 
darling of your heart may need a friend indeed, e’er 
his mortal career is completed ; let us at least try 
that the merit of our good deeds rather than our 
sins be visited upon his head. We, it is true, may 
leave him money ; but riches ofttiraes take to them- 
selves wings and fly away ; and would you not bless 
God, if i*etributive justice sent one friend to aid your 
boy?’ Turning to the awe-stricken children, Mr. 

A added : ‘ Kun off, little ones, I have done with 

you for the present.’ 

“ Mrs. A gazed at her husband in astonish- 

ment. He seemed very much affected as he con- 
versed ; tears stood in his manly eyes. She turned 
away and said no more. He had read her a lesson, 
and she profited by it. The manner and language of 
her husband made a deep impression upon her heart. 
She knew that although she now possessed worldly 


BENEVOLENCE. 


65 


wealth, yet she had no proof or security that it 
would last foreyer. 

“Ah! were all the world pure-hearted, what a 
glorious planet we would inhabit. If every man prac- 
ticed that which is good, we would not see so many 
care-worn faces. No, no ! — many drooping mortals 
would be revived, and brilliancy return to the eyes 
and color to the cheeks of poor waifs of humanity. 
For what can sooner destroy a human being than 
the misfortune of poverty ? There are hundreds and 
thousands of unfortunates daily sent headlong to 
destruction because poverty is their portion. There, 
perhaps, is not one kind heart open to them, nor 
one hand to offer them assistance. Such deplorable 
situations are often the cause of men and women 
throwing themselves away, when, perhaps, a few 
pitiful dollars, a little kindness in some way be- 
stowed, might have saved their bodies from pollu- 
tion and their souls from destruction.” 


CHAPTEE YIL 


‘‘ashes to ashes.” 



^^ELL, Andrew, Mr. Gowin did not obtain 
^ a situation, but was unfortunately taken ill. 
He bad arrived in June, and bad passed 


tbe winter on tbe plantation. Tbe next 
spring be was iU for some weeks. He was treated 

by tbe best physician in tbe county. Mrs. A 

could not account for tbe great interest ber bus- 
band evinced in tbe stranger, so sbe one day asked 
ber husband if Mr. Gowin bad ever paid any board. 

“ ‘ Why do you ask that question, wife ?’ asked 
tbe planter. 

“ ‘ Because,’ said sbe, ‘ from tbe manner in which 
you treat him, and from tbe attention he receives, 
one would suppose that be was remunerating you 
largely ; or at least, bad promised to leave you a 
fortune at bis. death.’ 

“ ‘ Have you forgotten, my dear, what I said to 
you some months ago, about our little son ?’ 


“ ‘ Well, I do not wish you to forget it, and never 
again speak to me about my own business. Mr. 


A8HE8 TO A8HE8: 


67 


Go win is a gentleman, and he is, and ever will be, 
welcome to a home in my house until he can better 
himself. He is now ill, poor man, and may never 
recover. If he dies here, he shall be respectably 
interred.’ 

“ ‘ I am sure,’ said the wife, ‘ there is some secret 
about this strange man ; aU this hospitality is very 
well ; but there is a mystery after all. I know that 
you are a kind-hearted man, husband. No one ever 
asked for and was denied what it was in your power 
to grant ; but this is wonderful ! Here we have had 
a strange man from New York living beneath our 
roof for many months ; he has never paid a cent of 
board, and yet you say he can still remain. If he 
dies, you will be necessitated to meet his funeral 
expenses. There is some secret reason. I am 
assured of that.’ 

“ ‘Have you not all you need and want, my dear ?’ 
asked the planter. 

“ ‘ Yes !’ replied the wife ; ‘ but that is no reason ’ 
why you should give aw'ay the balance.’ 

“ Mr. A smiled on his wife, and said he had 

once read a volume called the ‘ Good Book,’ in which 
was something to this effect, ‘ Let not thy right hand 
know what thy left hand doeth.’ You, my wife, are 
a member of the church, and I am not. You object 
to many things I do. Which of us will have the 


68 


THE GOLDEN LADDER 


highest seat in heaven, or rather, the heaven about 
■which you talk?’ 

“Mrs. A said nothing, she was silent for 

awhile. 

“ ‘ I believe,’ continued Mr. A , ‘ that the king- 

dom of heaven is in a man’s heart. So said Christ. 
When a human being does his duty to his fellow- 
men, then he is happy ; and when he does unto all 
men as he would like them to do to him, then he is 
a Christian. Let our faith shine in our own souls, 
and our light will shine out upon the world. Never 
again speak to me on the subject.’ 

“ There the conversation ceased, and Mr. A 

walked up into the room of his sick friend, whom 
he found very ill. 

“ ‘ Are you feeling worse, Gowin ?’ asked the 
planter. 

“‘Yes,’ replied the stranger. ‘Mr. A , I am 

tending toward the close of my earthly career, and 
never again shall I behold my native place and my 
former friends. Will you be so kind as to write to 
my brother ?’ ” 

“Did he die, mother?” interrupted Andrew, who 
had become painfully interested in this story. 

“ Be patient, my son ; the sequel to my tale will 
inform you,” replied Mrs. Patter. Then she con- 
tinued her narration. 


ASH^S TO ashes: 


69 


** ‘ Certainly,’ replied Mr. A ; ‘ but we hope to 

see you better in a day or two.’ 

“ ‘ No !’ said the sick man, ‘I shall live but a short 
time longer. All that now agitates my mind is that 
I am not able to compensate you for all your great 
and varied kindnesses to me. When I left New York 
I possessed but a few dollars ; I was recommende(J to 
come to this State and county by one . who had been 
here. You are aware how I have endeavored to 
obtain employment, and that I have signally failed.’ 

“ ‘ Never mind about that,’ said the planter, ‘ you 
are welcome to all I have done for you ; not a cent 
would I receive from you in repayment if you had 
it. I will write to your brother, but hope, e’er he 
receives the letter, you will be much better.’ 

“The letter was written, sealed, addressed, and 
sent to the office, and after a little further conversa- 
tion Mr. A left his friend to what he thought 

necessary repose. 

“ Mr. A sat reading in the library, when he 

heard a soft footstep stealing down-stairs. He won- 
dered who it could be, knowing that he had left no 
one up-stairs excepting the sick man. As the planter 
raised his eyes he beheld Mr. Gowin, dressed in 
black, hat on, and umbrella in hand. He was com- 
ing down the steps, but trembled in every limb, and 
looked as though he was about to fall. 


70 


THE GOLDEN LADDEB. 


“ ‘ For God’s sake, Go win !’ exclaimed tlie planter, 
* where are you going ?’ 

“ Mr. A saw that he was in the agonies of 

death, for his eyes were glassy. 

“ ‘ I am going, for the last time, A , to sit un- 

der the old cedar on the hill-side, where first we 
met, my brother.’ 

“ ‘ My dear sir,’ said the planter, ‘ go back to your 
room ; you are not able to walk to the sea-shore.’ 

‘ Oh ! yes,’ said he, tottering on. A jumped 

up and caught him by the arm. 

“ ‘ I will go too,’ he said. 

“ ‘ Oh ! A ,’ said the dying man, ‘ how dearly I 

have loved you ; and that spot of earth where w^e 
first met will live in my memory throughout eter- 
nity.’ 

“ By the assistance of Mr. A they reached 

the spot, and the poor man turned away and said : 

‘‘ ‘ It is enough I Carry me back, and let me die I’ 

“His friend helped him into the house and to his 
room, but he only spoke a few words ere he breathed 
his last, 

“ Oh ! how solemn is the hour of death ! Yet 
there is no death, for the soul is immortal ; but 
each one of us must pass through the same ordeal 
of change. 

“ Mr. A shed tears of genuine sorrow over the 


. ASHES TO ASHESr 71 

stranger, for he had become very much attached to 
him. 

“ There were no relatives near to bid him farewell, 
or imprint a parting kiss ; but the hand of the good 
man clasped that of the dying one until the breath 
was gone and the soul in another state of exist- 
ence. 

Then servants were dispatched for the neighbors 
to prepare the body for the tomb. 

‘‘ Just before the gentlemen arrived, Mrs. A 

ran up-stairs to ask her husband if she could be of 
any assistance. Mr. A desired her to help re- 

move the coat and vest from the dead body. She 
complied ; and, as she laid the vest on a chair she 
threw up the collar, and as her eyes lighted on a 
glittering badge she started back. 

“ ‘ Ah 1 husband, I have discovered the secret of 
your friendship for this poor fellow. You might 
have told me before, for surely the mystery was not 
one to be ashamed of,’ she cried. 

‘“Give me that vest, dear. What mattered it 
to you what bond of unity existed between Gowin 
and myself ?’ 

“ Mrs. A did not reply ; but she busied her- 

self seeking small articles of linen, necessary to 
dress the corpse, which were obtainable in the 
trunk of the alien. Presently a band of blue satin 


72 


THE OOLDEN LADDER. 


and some gold lace met her eye ; she quickly 
clutched it. 

‘ See, husband, here is the poor man’s ’ 

“ ‘ Give it to me, Ann,’ interrupted Mr. A , 

petulantly. , ‘ Now do go down-stairs, I will attend 
to the rest,’ he added. 

“Mrs. A left the room, feeling much better 

satisfied to think that she had discovered some- 
thing of importance; and her husband, after taking 
what he wished for the dead, locked the trunk 
and pocketed the key. The stranger was nicely 
shrouded. What the trunk did not furnish was 
purchased, and, on the third day, he was carried 
to the family burial-place, which was situated on 
another plantation, and a long and elaborately- 
arranged procession followed the corpse. 

“ The scene at the graveyard was truly solemn. 

“The funeral-service was read by a Methodist 
minister in a very impressive manner, and some 
rites were observed that astonished many among 
the large concourse of spectators. When the coffin 

was lowered into the grave, Mr. A and a few 

other gentlemen excited the wonderment of the 
bystanders by strewing the narrow home of their 
late friend with branches of cedar. 

“ ‘ Guess ’tis the way they bury folk up North ; 
some sign, perhaps, that means life withers away 


ASHES TO ashes: 


73 


like the leaves of the trees ; them Yanks are a 
queer lot,’ remarked one hoary-headed old man, 
who, in all his years, had never beheld the custom 
observed at other funei:als. 

“ The service was ended in silent solemnity ; the 
mourners watched the cold clods as they began 
to fall thick and fast upon the coffin. Ah ! how 
mournful is the sound of the first shovelful of 
earth as it falls on the * shell’ that contains the 
mortal remains of one dear to us ; hollow and 
dismal is the sound ! 

“ There were no relatives to witness the interment 
of the stranger, but he was laid in peace under a tall 
cedar. . 

“ The grave was filled up and the crowd dispersed. 
The last one who left the green spot was the planter ; 
it seemed that he could scarcely tear himself away 
from his friend ; but, after gazing long and wistfully 
upon the sacred spot, he turned away, with tears in 
his eyes, and proceeded homeward. 

“The sun was just sinking behind the western 
hills ; his last golden rays were flickering over the 
earth. Soon, ah, soon ! the mournful whip-poor- 
will began its lonely cry, and all was sad and dreary. 
The dew-drops moistened the fresh sward of the 
valley ; and the moon had gathered her brilliancy 
from the sun to shed her rays over the grave of the 
4 


74 


TEE GOLDEN LADDEB. 


stranger. The stars of heaven shone bright over 
the sod that covered the dead ; but cold, cold he lay 
in a strange land, far away from friends and home. 
How applicable the sad lines, of poor Keats — 

‘ Oh ! stranger, scatter roses, 

And slips of cypress burn ; 

A broken heart reposes 
Beneath this silent urn.’ 

“ Yet, my son, it is pleasant to believe that the 
cherubim and seraphim of other worlds united with 
dear relations who had gone before to welcome him 
to a happier realm— a kingdom where the weary are 
at rest and the voice of mourning is never heard.” 

“ Oh, mother, what a long, story, and how sadly it 
ends. Was it ever ascertained who the poor stranger 

really was, and why Mr. A was so kind to him ?” 

cried Andrew, whose fine eyes were gemmed with 
tears, called up by the pathetic narrative to which he 
had been listening. 

Yes, my child ; but that matters not to you. I 
told you the story in order that you might profit by 
it, for it teaches a holy lesson ; it bids us be always 
generous and charitable to those in need or afflic- 
tion. Some future day I may give you the sequel,” 
replied Mrs. Patter. 

“When will that be, mother?” asked the lad 
anxiously. 


ASHES TO ashes: 


75 


“ When you are old enough to comprehend things 
which your mind could not yet grasp, and are fitted 
to assume much responsibility,” answered the gen- 
tle lady, as she kissed her darling child “Good- 
night.” 


CHAPTEE VIII. 


TORN ASUNDER. 



‘H God ! my child ! — my child !” a female 
voice was heard to shriek. 

« What, in the name of heaven, can be the 
matter?” thought Annah Morgan, as the 
outcry thrilled her every nerve ; it had awakened 
her from a peaceful slumber — this cry, issuing from 
whose lips she knew not. 

The sun was just coming from his eastern home, 
and his rays newly gilded the tops of the taU forest- 
trees ; the sky was clear and serene, not a zephyr 
seemed astir ; all nature was lovely, and a myriad 
birds sent up sweet songs of praise to the beneficent 
Creator. 

“What a lovely morning!” thought the young 
wife. “ But, oh 1 there must be something strange 
going on in the house. I will dress myself quickly 
and go down to find out what is the matter.” 

Just as the lady was in the act of leaving her 
chamber, a low tap was heard at the door. 

“ Oh 1 Missus, missus, come quick,” uttered a 
juvenile voice, half choked by tears. “ Come 


TORN ASUNDER, 


77 


down, oh ! come down quick ; Aunt Adah is going 
away.” 

‘‘ Who is there ?” cried Mrs. Morgan, springing 
quickly to the door, and throwing it open. 

“ It is no one but Zura,” said a little girl who 
stood weeping. 

“What do you wish, Missouri? What is the 
matter ?” inquired her alarmed mistress. 

“ I only want you to come down. Missus, to see 
Aunt Adah ; she is g’wine to Norfolk wid mar- 
ster.” 

“ I guess not,” said Annah ; but, hastily throwing 
a morning-wrapper about her, she ran down-stairs, 
closely followed by the little mulatto girl. As she 
flew aloiig she heard that voice again cry out, 

“ My child ! my child ! 0 God ! what shall I 

do?” 

As Annah entered the breakfast-room her eyes 
flrst lighted upon her husband, a tall, robust man, 
with small blue eyes and red hair ; his countenance 
bore unmistakable marks of dissipation. He was 
in the act of buttoning-up his traveling-coat — and 
beside him, on a chair, lay a horsewhip. He beheld 
the sudden appearance of his wife with undisguised ' 
astonishment. As Mrs. Morgan caught his eye she 
was almost frightened at the glance he bestowed 
upon her ; but he quickly averted his gaze. 


78 


THE GOLDEN LADDER. 


‘‘ Who is that in such distress ?” inquired the wife 
of her husband. 

‘‘ It is Adah,” he replied. 

“What is the matter?” asked the lady, in her 
heart too well suspecting what was going on. How 
could she help but be on the alert after once 
glancing at the face of Morgan ? 

“ I am going to Norfolk,” he said sullenly, “ and 
I have decided to take Adah along, and hire her 
out. We can do without her, and negroes fetch a 
good price there now ; there are some rumors about 
war, and soon they will be worthless.” 

“ You do not mean to inform me, Mr. Morgan, 
that you are about to take that woman from her 
child ?” said the wife. 

“Yes, Madam; that is precisely what I have 
given you to understand. What is it to you, I 
should like to know ? These negroes are mine !” 

“ That is true, Mr. Morgan ; and that makes it all 
the more reprehensible in you to separate a mother 
from her child, particularly one of — ” She checked 
herself, for she saw the demon rising in the coun- 
tenance of her husband. He, however, anticipated 
her meaning. 

Header, imagine the scene. There stood a charm- 
ing little girl, only nine years of age. Her hair 
was long and curled beautifully, her cheeks were 


TOBN ASUNDER. 


79 


like fresh roses, and her young eyes sparkled as she 
watched her mistress. The poor child thought that 
Missus” could certainly prevent “ Marster” from 
taking away her mother. But she had soon to learn 
that Aunt Adah, as, in imitation of others, she often 
called her mother, had indeed to go. 

While Annah conversed with her husband, the 
mother stole close to the door, trying hard to sup- 
press her sobs. She was a large woman, as black 
as the African could possibly be, and exceedingly 
homely. Her teeth were gone, and she looked at 
least forty years of age. She had dispatched her 
little girl to summon her mistress, in the hope that, 
through her instrumentality, she would be saved a 
trip to Norfolk. But the poor slave soon perceived 
that her master cared about as little for what his 
wife uttered as he did for her own trouble. 

Mrs. Morgan, in the most pathetic manner, 
pleaded for the mother for about twenty minutes, 
but all in vain, and finally she was obliged to desist 
in utter despair. 

“ I want to hear no more !” cried the enraged 
planter. ‘‘ I will buy or sell as many negroes as I 
choose. Madam ; and I will put up with no more of 
your harangues.” 

“ Great heavens !” cried the astonished wife, 
‘‘ what can a man be who can thus separate mother 


80 


THE GOLDEN LABDEB. 


and child, and one whose blood — ?” She paused 
again, and burst into tears. 

As the little mulattress beheld her mistress weep- 
ing, she caught hold of her dress and screamed 
aloud, saying : 

“ Poor Aunt Adah ! Poor Mammy is g’wine 
now !” 

“ Yes,” said Annah. “ I cannot save your mother. 
‘ Marster’ has all in his power. Missouri, and Aunt 
Adah, and Missus, all are slaves.” 

These words enraged Morgan almost to madness, 
and, in a voice choked with passion, he ordered 
Aunt Adah to enter the wagon immediately, adding 
that he would see if he couldn’t soon put an end to 
the tableau. 

As the mother was about to obey, she caught her 
child in her arms and pressed her frantically to her 
bosom. 

“ Oh, my God ! my God ! My chile ! my chile ! 
I shall nebber see my little Zura any more,” she 
cried. 

Mother and child were clasped closely in each 
other’s embrace for a moment, and one last kiss was 
imprinted upon the lips of the little girl. 

The young mistress wept as profusely as either of 
her servants, and her tears were the evidence of sin- 
cere grief. 


TORN ASUNDER 


81 


As the mother and child were indulging in this 
last embrace, the infuriated Marcellus, rushing 
toward the spot, tore the child from the arms of its 
parent, dashed it away, and,^ with a horrid oath on 
his lips, ordered Aunt Adah to enter the wagon im- 
mediately. She instantly obeyed, daring only to 
say: 

“ Farewell, my chile — farewell, Missus — God bless 
you!” 

Marcellus Morgan sprang into his carriage, the 
driver mounted his seat, and they were soon borne 
out of sight by the fleet-footed horses. The or- 
phaned child watched the vehicle that contained the 
form of her mother until it was entirely lost to view. 
Soon, ah ! too soon, Aunt Adah faded away from her 
vision, and was hurried swiftly along to the steamer 
Sea-Bird. 

After the departure of her husband, Mrs. Morgan 
seated herself at the table to take a cup of coffee. 
In a corner sat the little Zura, weeping and exclaim- 
ing, “ Poor Aunt Adah is gone away — she come back 
nebber more to Oak Lawn.” 

Mrs. Morgan felt too well that the little girl had 
but uttered the truth. She knew that her husband 
did not mean to hire out this woman. Her reason 
taught her that the poor creature was to be sold, 
and would never again return to the plantation. 

4 * 


82 


THE GOLDEN LADDER. 


Morgan had said to his wife that he intended to hire 
out the services of the slave, for even he thought that 
it would seem too cruel to declare openly that she was 
to be sold, while there stood his living image in the 
little girl. 

The wife had not been blind to the conduct of 
her husband. Now she sat musing upon past days. 
The first scene that had been presented to her 
bridal eyes was that of this same poor little suffer- 
ing infant lying upon the bare planks of a kitchen 
floor, in an almost nude state, and screaming with 
hunger. As Annah beheld it, she exclaimed : 

“ Oh ! what poor child is that lying there, and 
almost crying itself to death?” 

“ It is Adah’s chile, Mam,” answered one of the 
colored women. 

“Adah’s child, indeed!” echoed the bride. 
“ Why, that is a white child — it cannot be a colored 
woman’s 1” 

“ Yes, Missus, it is,” answered the old woman ; 
“ but, you see, it is got a white daddy.” 

“ Why do you allow it to cry so ?” asked 
Annah. 

“ Bekase it wants its mammy. Missus,” was the 
reply she received. 

“ Well, why does not the mother attend to it ?” 

“ Kase, Missus, Marster Morgan won’t let her nuss 


TORN A8UNBER 


83 


it but three times a day ; he say dat is enuff for any 
young one to nuss.” 

Annah, as she sat at the breakfast-table, recalled 
all of this conversation that had passed between 
herself and her cook on the second day of her arrival 
home as a bride. It had been owing to her kind 
and feehng heart that the little Missouri was still 
living. She had given orders that the child should 
be nursed as often as it evinced hunger. She was 
young and inexperienced. Her own father’s slaves 
were always treated with kindness and humanity, 
and the cries of the half-starved infant had startled 
the young wife. She wondered why her husband 
should object to a mother nursing her child. 

These reminiscences effectually destroyed her 
appetite, and she pushed back her chair from a 
scarcel3^-tasted meal. She arranged some proven- 
der for Missouri. 

“ Go and eat your breakfast,” said the mistress 
to the weeping child. 

“Me don’t want none. Missus,” answered the 
little girl. “ You aint eat none, and Zura want 
none.” 

“You need not refrain from eating because I 
have happened to, Missouri.” 

“ I aint hungry. Missus,” she sobbed from her 


corner. 


84 


THE GOLDEN LADDEB. 


‘‘ Poor child !” thouglit Mrs. Morgan. ** I am 
sure you are telling the truth.” 

Missouri, only nine years of age, dearly loved 
and deeply grieved for her mother. She had all the 
sensations belonging to humanity, which, we are 
sorry to say, some of our Southern friends seemed 
to ihink their slaves unpossessed of ; but, perhaps, 
time, and the development of mind, may unfold to 
them their mistake. 

Annah Morgan sat sewing beside the window, 
and her mind wandered back to the days of court- 
ship ; when her husband came like a violet in all his 
sweetness and modesty — when he almost blushed 
to hear a double entendre from the lips of any one 
present. 

But, oh ! what had she seen and heard that 
morning ! Was he transformed ? or was his evil 
nature but now displaying itself ? 

The wife durst not conclude the sentence, ‘‘ Can 
you separate a mother from her child, and one 
of — ?” 

That was as far as she had dared venture. She 
had thought that man, made in the image of his 
Maker, must be, at least, humane. But what her 
eyes had just witnessed was enough to disgust her 
forever with slavery, although a Southern soil had 
given her birth. From this time, she became con- 


TORN ASUNDER. 


85 


yineed in her mind that the system was wrong, and 
that the bands would be broken at some future day, 
as surely as the children of Israel were brought out 
of the wilderness after a journey of forty years. 

The only child of its mother had been torn from 
her arms by its own father ! Who could tolerate 
such a law of injustice and of inhumanity ? Never- 
theless, so it was. But, thank God, the light of 
reason has now taken hold of the mind, and Mrs. 
Morgan was one of the first converts. 

The scenes of her husband’s life had been a 
series of dissipation, and when he pretended that 
he intended to hire out his slave, he knew in his 
heart that he was going to sell her to enable him 
to mount a little higher the Golden Ladder. 

The flesh and blood of the mother of his child 
was to be bartered on a public stand, in order to 
supply his drained pocket. Little Missouri, with 
the elasticity of childhood’s affections, soon became 
reconciled to her loss. She loved her young mis- 
tress; she soon forgot to weep, and went dancing 
about the house and yard like a playful little kitten. 

The planter’s wife had already taken her first 
lesson in the great study of human nature. The 
slave-mother had given her new ideas of mankind, 
and she determined to profit thereby. She whiled 
away the lonely hours as agreeably as possible. 


86 


THE GOLDEN LADDER. 


There was but one earthly thing needful to com- 
plete her happiness, and that was a kind husband. 
This she began to fear she was never to possess, 
after having seen and heard all that had passed 
between master and slave. 

However, time went on after the usual manner of 
plantation-life. Geese hissed, hens cackled, calves 
and sheep bleated, horses neighed, and dogs barked. 
The whole place seemed full of animal life — and, 
certainly, its master had exhibited more than his 
share of animal nature. 

In a few weeks, Marcellus Morgan returned 
home. His carriage was seen approaching the 
house, and soon the gentleman himself entered. 
He appeared really glad to meet his wife ; but 
Annah felt strangely toward him. She inquired 
what he had done with Adah, and he confessed 
that she was sold. 

“ I thought you said it was only your intention 
to hire her out,” said his wife, sadly. 

“Well, I was forced- to tell you so, because I 
was well aware what a time you’d make if I had 
acknowledged that she was to be sold.” 

Annah sighed, but at last gained courage to 
observe: 

“ It is not your wife whom you should fear, Mr. 
Morgan. There is a Being who decides all things, 


TORN ASTJNBEB. 


87 


and ’tis He whom you and I should fear and 
obey.” 

“ Oh ! that will be all right,” he said, with a grim 
smile, and not very pertinently to the subject in 
hand. 

Annah, well knowing his furious temper, ventured 
to say no more ; but, although she could exercise 
restraint over her tongue, she could not suppress her 
powers of thought. She knew that her husband 
was addicted to many vices, and, although she had 
married him, she could not close her eyes to his 
diabolical conduct. 

He said little regarding his late trip to Norfolk, 
and his wife made no inquiries, but she had her own 
suspicions on the subject. 

Whenever Annah looked at the little mulattress, 
Missouri, she thought that the time might come 
when she also would be a target for the negro- 
trader. Such ideas kept her in a state of continual 
unhappiness. Morgan was lord of all he surveyed, 
and considerably more than lord of the fowl and 
the brute ; but, sooth to say, ofttimes not lord of 
himself. 

We do not say that this was so in all cases. 
There are many, and very many, high-minded and 
noble-hearted men in the South, and such are the 
kindest of husbands and masters. But we do say 


88 


TEE GOLDEN LADDER. 


that the institutions of slavery did make a man a 
selfish egotist ; indeed, were we to say that it made 
him devilish, we would not consider the term any 
too strong. He felt his superiority over the slave, 
and at times top strongly asserted his authority over 
his wife. 

Had Marcellus Morgan been guided by his wife, 
he would not have separated the mother and child. 
If he sold one, the other should have also been sold. 
But he was crafty enough to watch his opportunity 
of making a fine trade by selling them separately. 
He thought that by so doing he could make more. 
Mrs. Morgan had no children, and Missouri was 
treated almost like her own daughter. The master 
was not kind to any one, or anything, and it is not 
natural to suppose that he showed any feeling for 
the little slave, whom he had deprived of her dearest 
friend. Whenever her master spoke, the girl would 
jump as though stung by a hornet. He was so 
morose, and spoke so loudly and so angrily, when- 
ever he did speak, that every one feared to hear his 


voice. 


CHAPTER IX. 


A NICE OLD MAN. 



'HERE was not a slave on tlie plantation 
who did not love Miss Annah. Many were 
the lashes that she saved the poor creatures. 
Had she not covered and concealed their 
faults and short-comings their backs would have 
been sore from week to week. Alas ! alas ! Annah 
had become Morgan’s wife under colors of disguise. 
He had wooed and won a heart to trample upon and 
lacerate. 

We will not describe many scenes which occurred 
on the plantation, for the feminine heart would 
sicken at the very sound of the language that neces- 
sity would compel us to make use of. We will only 
say that Annah Morgan herself washed and dressed 
the wounds of many mangled slaves ; she soothed 
with her own delicate hands and kind care those 
whom her husband had mutilated. 

Morgan, senior, was of the same stamp of man 
as his son. The latter had a “ heritage of woe” in 
the disposition of his sire. The old gentleman (?) 
had reinoved from Poplar Hill to a plantation 


90 


THE GOLDEN LADDER 


beside the sea-shore, leaving his son to manage the 
old place. All that did not proceed comme il faut, 
according to his peculiar ideas, he had communi- 
cated to his father, and the old man came twice a 
week upon visits of inspection. Anything that they 
considered had gone wrong was then made right. If 
the negroes had not accomplished sufficient work, 
they were called up, tied, and whipped. This was 
previous to the purchase of Oak Lawn by Marcellus. 

The first time that Ann ah beheld a slave flogged 
she almost fainted. She had never seen or heard of 
such a thing on her father’s plantation, although the 
families only lived twenty-five miles distant from 
each other. 

But the reader must remember that there is the 
same difference among the Southern people as we 
find the world over — some are good and others are 
bad. 

Could the young wife have preserved upon pa- 
per the remembrance of what she beheld, we fear 
that the scenes portrayed in the pages of Unde 
Tom's Cabin would have appeared in contrast, as a 
pleasant sunbeam shining upon the surface of the 
water. 

One evening, about sunset, Mrs. Morgan sat read- 
ing beside a front window; reading a novel, ’tis true, 
but for all that a very good book. She was so absorbed 


NICE OLD man: 


91 


in the volume that she heard not the sound of carriage 
wheels. Suddenly she was roused by a tall figure 
passing before the window, and in a moment the 
old gentleman stood before her. With a frown, he 
inquired where all the negroes were, that no one had 
appeared to take his horse. Annah closed her book, 
begged him to be seated, and went to summon the 
servants. She could find no one in but the cook, 
whom she sent to hold the horse while her father- 
in-law remained, though she devoutly prayed that 
his visit would not be of long duration. But the 
old gentleman had been drinking, and was very 
loquacious. His money and his family seemed 
never-failing topics of braggadocio with him. It is 
very extraordinary that persons minus the least 
merit feel so often self-consequential ! 

Mrs. Morgan said but little, hoping thus to expe- 
dite his departure. About dusk her husband entered, 
who, upon seeing his parent, exclaimed, 

“ Why did you not have your horse attended to, 
Pa ? I see it standing under a tree alone.” 

‘‘ For a very good reason,” answered his father, 
there was no one about to take care of it. My 
negroes are all waiting upon other folks, it seems, 
and when I come here there’s no one even to take 
my horse. I believe that your literary wife did go 
and send old Jude to hold the animal.” 


92 


THE GOLDEN LADDEU. 


“ Well,” said his hopeful son, “ the fact is that 
there is so little to be done indoors, we have sent all 
the hands out into the fields, excepting the cook and 
waitress.” 

Annah felt all of the cuts meant for her. She had 
sent the waitress upon an errand. 

The old man then commenced a series of ques- 
tions, asking what Guy had been doing, and Cur, 
and Jim, and Joe, and so on. Marcellus, in reply, 
uttered his usual complaints, Joe and Cur had only 
cut so many logs. Cur had carted only so many 
loads, and as for old Guy — “ Father, you may as 
well take him over with you, for it is beyond my 
power to make him work,” he said. 

‘‘ Where is he ?” inquired the planter. 

“ In the kitchen,” answered the son. 

Mrs. Morgan sat beside the window, and had seen 
the poor old negro hobbling toward his cabin, which 
was not far from the kitchen, with bent head and 
feeble steps, supported by a cane. Old Morgan 
made a rush through the kitchen and entered the 
cabin just as the old slave had seated himself, pant- 
ing for breath — he had walked a long distance from 
the woods. 

“ What have you been doing to-day, Guy ?” asked 
the semi-inebriated tyrant, in a voice which threat- 
ened direful things. 


A NIGE OLD man: 


93 


“ Raking up manure, Marster,” answered the 
slave, who trembled violently from two causes, fear 
and weakness. 

“ Master ’Cellus tells me that you do not rake up 
fifteen loads a day, and I told him to task you to 
twenty.” 

“ I do all I can, Marster, bress de Lord,” said the 
old negro. “ But de roots is so tuff, and de ground 
so wet and so heaby, dat I kin only git from twulf 
to fifteen a day.” 

“ Only twelve or fifteen a day, eh ! you d — d old 
rascal. I’ll teach you !” and with a furious rush 
he picked up a stool, and dashed it at the head 
of the old negro, who fell upon the floor. ‘‘ Now, 
d — n you, lie there, you old lazy devil.” 

As he went out of one door, Annah entered by 
another. 

“ Poor old Uncle Guy !” she said, in her soft com- 
passionate voice ; “ have they killed you at last ?” 

“Almos, almos. Miss Annah,” the aged servitor 
whispered. There lay the stool of solid oak split in 
half. 

“ Good Lord ! what a terrible crime,” she invol- 
untarily exclaimed. 

‘‘ Come here. Aunt Judy, and assist him to rise ; 
poor old man, surely he must be killed.” 

“No, Missus — no. Missus, I am not quite dead,” 


94 


THE OOLDEN LADDER. 


whispered Uncle Guy ; “ but I cannot move, my 
head is broke. Oh my head, my head !” 

Annah stooped down and examined his head ; it 
was a sight that made her feel sick at heart. But 
for fear of being seen by her husband or his father, 
she felt compelled to leave. 

After having given due orders and suggestions 
for the relief of the wounded man, she entered the 
house by a side-door, and there beheld her hus- 
band’s father foaming with passion, and swearing 
that he hoped old Uncle Guy would die before morn- 
ing. He went out to his carriage fuming with rage, 
telling his son that if the d — d niggers did not 
accomplish more work, to send immediately for him, 
and he would strip them every day, and give them 
thirty-nine lashes. 

After his departure, Annah stole again to the 
slave’s cabin to inquire after the fate of poor old 
Guy. He had succeeded in crawling to his bed of 
straw, and there lay, groaning most piteously. His 
mistress conveyed him a cup of tea and a biscuit, 
but he was in too much agony to partake of any- 
thing. 

Old Guy lived for some years to suffer all the 
wretchedness imaginable, inflicted by the hands of 
the Morgan family, but, eventually, he passed away 
from earth, and his feeble frame is now strong, no 


A NICE OLD man: 


95 


doubt, in the spirit world. Since then the planter 
has also paid the debt of nature ; but we leave the 
reader to judge of his fitness for 

“ Tlie celestial regions, 

Where pure spirits dwell.” 

We only say that Morgan’s father lived and died 
the same man that he was the evening on which he 
wounded the poor old slave. ^ 

This scene occurred but a short time previous to 
the purchase of Oak Lawn by Marcellus — a beauti- 
ful plantation situated on the Kappahannock Eiver, 
and to which we have previously referred. 


CHAPTER X. 


Z U E A. 


lARS had rolled by, bringing many 
changes to Oak Lawn. The plantation 
comprised a beautiful elevated spot, not 
situated immediately upon the river, yet not 
far distant. 

In Virginia the mountainous region is considered 
the most healthful, therefore the most desirable 
location, and the plantation of Marcellus Morgan 
was one among the most romantic on the Northern 
Neck. The house was a stately edifice, airy and com- 
fortable as heart could wish. The orchards were 
elegant and extensive ; an acre or two of land con- 
taining fruit-trees of all kinds was in the spring-time 
a beautiful and comfortable sight. Shrubs and 
flowers of various, sorts interspersed the grounds, 
and filled the air far and near with delightful fra- 
grance. From springi^o winter it was but a succes- 
sion of flowers and^fruits. 

“ How many things by season seasoned are, 

To their right praise and true perfection.” 

Ah ! how truly doth Shakespeare put every senti- 
ment before us I 


zura: 


97 


To look upon this delightful spot, one would not 
suppose that an unhappy head could slumber on any 
pillow beneath that roof. 

Oh ! what is all the world to us if there be a 
secret grief gnawing at our hearts; if there is a 
secret viper in our home, ready to thrust its 
venomed sting into our bosoms ? Palaces may be 
the abode of anything but happiness, and the 
wisest are often deceived by mere external ap- 
pearances. 

Of the numbers who visited at Oak Lawn, few, 
nay, perhaps none, suspected the true state of 
domestic affairs beneath that elegant roof. Annah, 
from a gay, volatile girl, had settled down into a 
thoughtful woman. Her face still showed the 
bloom of youth, and her eyes yet sparkled, when 
her spirits were elated; but when distressed, no 
heart could suffer more acutely than hers. But in 
all her joys and sorrows no one seemed to take 
as much interest as Missouri, the slave-girl. She 
had became so much attached to her mistress as 
to be miserable when absent from her. Missouri 
flight have been taken for the lady’s child, but for 
her tawny hue and for the fact that she did work 
occasionally, and Southern children knew not what 
labor was. 

Missouri was growing a sprightly girl. Beauty 

- 6 


98 


THE GOLDEN LADDEB. 


among the true African is rarely to be seen; but 
the mulatto is often endowed with great personal 
charms. 

Mrs. Morgan knew that the worldly affairs of her 
husband were in a flourishing condition, so, when 
two years had rolled by, and Missouri still remained 
unsold, she began to hope that she would be per- 
mitted always to retain her by her side. In this 
confidence, she spared no pains to teach the slave- 
girl everything that she thought would benefit her. 
There was not a book in the library but Missouri 
knew its title, and she was well acquainted with the 
contents of many. There was nothing in the house 
that she did not know something about. She fol- 
lowed the footsteps of her mistress, and in many 
ways her assistance was of infinite value to our 
heroine. Missouri had also been taught to speak 
grammatically. She seldom mingled with the other 
servants, save when sent to deliver orders, mes- 
sages, etc., etc. By her master she was never 
noticed, excepting when ordered to bring his boots, 
boot-jack, a drink, etc., and whenever he issued an 
order, she flew around like a scared partridge. She 
never would look in his face, but would always turn 
her head aside, as though she had a secret contempt 
for him ; but for “ Miss” Annah she would willingly 
have laid down her life. Missouri was not idle ; 


zura: 


99 


she watered the flowers, and culled them for the 
vases; she fed the chickens and turkeys, assisted 
the chamber-maid in arranging the rooms, and 
gathered and prepared all the smaller fruits for the 
table. She was a smart girl, and of course had her 
full share of vanity. When her mistress bestowed 
upon her a pretty new dress or ornament, she would 
smile and courtesy, as though her very soul was 
delighted within her; then she would run to a 
mirror, and turn round and round in simple admi- 
ration of what its depths revealed to her bright 
eyes ; until her mistress would chide her for her 
nonsense, and tell her that vanity was a sign of 
weakness, and the ruination of many. 

One day her mistress caused her to try on a 
pretty, new dress, and, as usual, the girl sought 
the mirror, and seemed evidently charmed with 
herself. 

“ Missouri,” said her mistress, “ did I not tell you 
that you must not be so vain? God does not love 
proud children, and he will punish you if your heart 
continues so full of vanity.” 

The little girl looked in the face of her mistress, 
looks in and said, seriously : 

‘‘ Miss Annah, does God love master ? If He 
does, then He must love vain men — for master 
looks in the glass at himself a heap.” 


100 


TEE GOLDEN LADDER. 


Mrs. Morgan was astonished, yet could not help 
smiling ; however, she chided the girl for her pert- 
ness, and mildly told her never again to allow her- 
self to make remarks about her master. Alas ! the 
vanity of Missouri was hereditary. 

During the first year of her mother’s absence, 
Missouri would frequently ask after her parent and 
wish for her return. Whenever Mrs. Morgan over- 
heard her she would say : 

“ You need never look for your mother at Oak 
Lawn, Missouri ; perhaps at some future day you 
may meet her at Norfolk.” 

“ Ah ! I wish I could,” would be the reply. 

“ Do you, then, wish to leave me and go to Nor- 
folk ?” asked Annah one day, as the little girl sat 
preparing some strawberries for dinner. 

“ No, Mam — no. Mam ! I would not leave you. 
Missus, for anybody in the world !” 

‘‘Well, you may see your mother sooner than you 
anticipate,” remarked Annah, sententiously. 

Morgan was so dissipated and disagreeable that 
his wife often prayed that she might die. Winter 
after dreary winter she thought she certainly could 
not survive, and yet spring after spring beheld her 
still in existence. When she felt that her heart 
was sinking or dying, Hope, like a ray of sunshine, 


zuba: 


101 


would burst upon her, to comfort and in some way 
revive her drooping spirits. 

Marcellus Morgan was what was technically 
called a “ hard case,” a hard case of the first water* 
— an uneducatedj irritable, proud man, who had 
passed very little of his time at home. The reader 
may imagine the sort of husband that he made. 
Like many other characters, both good and bad, he 
was easily read, and by none more easily than by 
his young wife ; but, alas ! like too many other 
women, she read too late. 

In less than one year after her fatal marriage, 
she found that all the splendor of her bridal home 
could not satisfy her heart. She had a warm, con- 
fiding, honorable spirit, which looked for and ar- 
dently desired a reciprocal attachment, but her wishes 
were doomed to remain ungratified. A gentle, refined 
nature became irksome to Marcellus. In fact, Annah 
had never loved her husband as woman should love, 
since the day upon which he had torn the slave- 
mother from her child, and had acted in so unmanly 
a manner. Still, so long as a woman remains a 
wife, it is her bounden duty to do all in her power to 
render her home happy. The marriage-tie is not so 
easily broken, particularly in the South, where 
divorces are not readily obtained. Annah was 
always saying in her heart : “ The time will come 


102 


THE GOLDEN LADDER. 


when he will see his errors, and then he will repent 
and change.” 

But that period never arrived. 

Time, the revealer of happiness or misery, was 
swiftly flying, and Missouri’s infancy was past. 

One day, while Mrs. Morgan sat busily sewing, 
she called the girl and bade her bring a pail of 
water from the spring. Not far distant from the 
house was a meadow, where the cows were accus- 
tomed to graze. It was a beautiful, shady grove, 
seeded in grass and clover for the benefit of the 
calves. A running stream meandered through its 
green depths, and beneath a large weeping-willow 
was the spring, which contained two boilers, and 
mineral qualities of a healthful nature. • 

Away ran Missouri to obey the order of her mis- 
tress. In a few moments she came flying back, out 
of breath, and, as soon as she had recovered a little, 
she cried out : 

“ Lord ! Lord ! Missus, Aunt Adah is down by the 
spring under the willow, and she is crying.” 

Mrs. Morgan, full of incredulous astonishment, 
determined to go and see for herself whether there 
was any truth in this strange information. As she 
approached the spring, she saw a figure moving 
slowly away, with a hand to its face, as though 
weeping. 


zura: 


103 


There she is !” exclaimed the excited Zura ; “ I 
told you so, Miss Annah.” 

But the figure had passed away beyond the reach 
of their vision, and who it was, or where it went, no 
one could tell ; but it certainly bore a striking re- 
semblance to the mother of the girl, for even her 
costume, dress, bonnet, etc., were such as Aunt Adah 
had worn on the morning of her departure. 

“ Poor Aunt Adah !” murmured the slave-girl, as 
she mechanically dipped up the water from the 
spring, “ she has been here to see me. How do 
you suppose that she knew I would come to the 
spring alone. Missus?” 

“ Beally, Missouri, although that form did very 
much resemble your mother, I think it scarcely 
possible that it was hers.” 

“ I wish that I had gone to her !” said Missouri ; 
“ but as soon as I beheld her, I dropped my bucket 
and ran for you. Missus.” 

“ I do not think it could have been your mother, 
Missouri,” replied Annah. 

But the girl would not be convinced to the con- 
trary, and all the way back to the house persisted 
in asserting such to be her belief. After she had 
served to her mistress a glass of the clear, crystal 
water, she ran to the kitchen, and astonished the 
other servants with the information that she had 


104 


THE GOLDEN LADDER 


beheld her mother at the spring, under the wil- 
low. 

“God bress my soul!” exclaimed old Aunt Judy, 
“ why, dat woman has been dare a dozen times. I 
seed her, and know’d dat it was Adah ; but I did 
not tell nobody, kase I know’d dat nobody would 
believe me.” 

Missouri now went oftener than ever to the 
spring; but the figure of her parent never again 
appeared unto her. 


CHAPTEB XL 


THE LOST SLAVE. 


long after this occurrence Mr. Morgan 
announced his intention of going on a visit 
sister, who resided at Portsmouth, 
and desired to know if his wife was willing 
that he should take Missouri to Norfolk, in order 
that she might see her mother. This seemed 
sufficiently plausible, but still Annah hesitated ; she 
knew not why ; however, she at length gave her 
consent, well knowing that her opinion concerning 
the affair was merely nominal. 

Winter had passed away, and spring had come 
again. All of that winter Missouri had slept in the 
chamber of her mistress, who, every night before 
she retired, never failed to go to the little bed of 
the slave-girl, in order to see if she were well covered 
up and comfortable. 

There were many at the South just as kind and 
humane to their slaves as Mrs. Morgan, but that 
did not mitigate the evil of the system ; no, not in 
the least. 

The day arrived, and Missouri, in her best attire, 
5 * 


106 


THE GOLDEN LADDER. 


went to say good-bye to ber kind mistress. .The 
girl always wore a white cambric handkerchief tied 
about her head in turban style, and her curls beneath 
the snowy muslin were a pretty sight to see, as she 
came to Miss Annah as usual to have her turban 
arranged. 

“ It may be a long time, Zura, before we meet 
again. This may be the last time I may ever see 
you.” 

“ Oh ! yes, you will, Miss Annah,” said the girl, as 
the blood mounted to her cheeks, and the tears 
gathered in her eyes. “ I am only going to Norfolk 
to see my mother.” 

“ That is what your master tells us,” replied Mrs. 
Morgan, “ and it is as well for you to think so. Be 
a good girl, and remember Miss Annah’ s advice. 
Farewell!” and her mistress held out her hand. 
The girl caught it, and, half choked with emotion, 
said : 

“ May I kiss you. Miss Aunah.” 

“ Yes,” replied Mrs. Morgan, and turned her cheek 
— her fair and beautiful cheek. 

The slave pressed her lips upon it more than 
once. 

Then Annah’s love for the girl surged up in her 
heart, and, fearing that her husband meant treach- 
ery, she impulsively cried : 


THE LOST SLAVE. 


107 


“No, no, Missouri, I cannot part with you, for 
something tells me that if I do so I shall never see 
my poor little handmaiden again. No, I cannot say 
farewell.” 

Morgan, who was a spectator of this touching 
scene, ground his teeth with anger. 

“ This girl is my property. Madam ; I say she 
shall accompany me, and I am accustomed to have 
my own way,” he cried. 

“ You tell the truth for once in your life,” replied 
Annah, with a sarcastic sneer. “ I suppose you in- 
tend to dispose of this poor innocent in the same 
manner as you did her mother, years ago.” 

“ By , I’ll sell her. Madam, if I choose ; you 

have no voice in the matter. Come, Missouri, no 
more of this whimpering ; your mistress would make 
you as chicken-hearted as herself,” he yelled, seizing 
in his fury the arm of the unhappy slave, and forci- 
bly wresting her from his wife’s embrace. 

“ Farewell, Zura ! farewell forever,” sobbed Annah, 
as Morgan hurried her favorite from the room. 

Annah heard the carri-age roll away, but could 
not summon courage to watch it out of sight ; she 
flung herself on a couch, and sobbed as though her 
heart would break. She instinctively felt that Mis- 
souri was gone from her forever. She knew that the 
man who would sell the mother would scarce hesi- 


108 


THE GOLDEN LADDER. 


tate to put in the market this pretty slave. Tears 
had given her experience, and well she knew the 
crimes of her husband. Wives often have a thou- 
sand times more perception than husbands give them 
credit for, and they are often obliged to close their 
eyes and ears in order to maintain peace. Such 
was the case at Oak Lawn. 

What viper, what scorpion, what fiend can be 
more terriffic than the demon jealousy ? — the “■ green- 
eyed monster !” as he is well designated. 

“ Trifles light as air 
Are to the jealous confirmation strong 
As proof of holy writ.” 

But when not “ trifles,” not fancy, not the mere 
fragments of an excited brain; but proofs, proofs 
indeed as strong in reality as “ holy writ,” are pre- 
sented to the wronged wife, then, indeed, may we 
pity her ! 

All those who have lived, confided, and been de- 
ceived, can sympathize with the planter’s unhappy 
wife. Not all the beauty of God’s fair earth can 
give peace to a heart which love has blasted. Joy 
is never again to be known ! Oh ! there is nothing 
so cruel, nothing so painful, nothing so destructive 
to human happiness, although thousands and thou- 
sands of mortals have passed under this dark cloud 
of sorrow. But, thank God ! there is a world where 


THE LOST SLAVE. 


109 


the affinity will be congenial, and the attraction, the 
love, so pure, so powerful, that it will never fade or 
pass away — this is the spirit world beyond the skies. 

Such thoughts as these occupied the mind of the 
wife as she patiently awaited the return of her hus- 
band and of the slave-girl. Finally, a colored boy 
cried out one morning : 

“ Missus, here comes marster ; but I don’t see 
Zura.” 

Mrs. Morgan ran hastily to the door. The car- 
riage, all bespattered with mud, was at the gate, 
true enough, and the horses had the appearance of 
having been driven very hard. Mr. Morgan alighted 
and entered the house. He had evidently been 
drinking rather freely, but tried hard to assume 
a piteous facial expression as he addressed some 
words to his wife. 

“ Where is Missouri ?” was the first question 
asked by Annah. 

“ Don’t ask me that,” he answered, trying to ap- 
pear very grave and sorrowful. 

“ The little fool was so much delighted with the 
city, that rather than return home, she ran away 
and got lost. I don’t know where the d — 1 she has 
gone to.” 

“You certainly do not mean to say, Mr. Morgan, 
that you permitted the girl to get lost I” 


110 


TEE GOLDEN LADDER. 


“ Yes ! I took her to see her mother ; but Adah 
had run away, and her master had not found out 
a word concerning her whereabouts. She has not 
been seen for two weeks, and Missouri, I suppose, 
has gone in search of her.” 

“ Well,” exclaimed Mrs. Morgan, this is most 
certainly a lame story. Marcellas, you can never 
succeed in making me believe anything so exceed- 
ingly absurd.” 

“ I do not care a d — n. Madam, whether you 
believe me or not. Your ladyship is at liberty to 
suit yourself, and to make up a story less absurd, 
and more to your very refined taste. But one thing 
at least is true, and that is that your eyes will prob- 
ably never more behold your beautiful slave ! ’Tis 
my belief that it will be some time to come before 
she kisses you again.” 


CHAPTEE XII. 


A NIGHT OP TEBEOK. 



^ and yet no tidings were lieard of lier. Mrs. 


pIME, the reaper, mowed away the years 


after poor little Missouri was taken away, 


^ Morgan could not help lamenting her in 
secret, for she did not believe a word of the story 
about her having been lost. She always noticed 
an influx of money after Morgan had sold a slave. 
She often thought of the Golden Ladder that her 
old mercenary aunt used to dilate about ; and she 
wondered how people could love money well enough 
to barter their honor, souls, and everything else to 
obtain it. Mrs. Morgan’s family, all excepting this 
one aunt, were anything but money-lovers. They 
lived in affluence, and, as her dearly-beloved father 
always said : “ Money was made to use, and not to 
hoard up and rust out.” 

Mr.. Foy was one of those whole-souled, charita- 
ble men, who are loved by all. He was particularly 
endeared to the slave population, and to the poorer 
classes of white people ; and when it was announced 
in the neighborhood that he was dead, it came upon 


112 


TEE GOLDEN LADDER. 


the people like an electric shock, so much was the 
death of this good man lamented. 

Marcellus Morgan had in his possession Father 
Foy’s pet Jewel, as Annah’s father always called her, 
when he would catch her and place her on his knee 
and stroke her glossy curls, and say, “Now kiss 
papa, and tell him whether or not mamma has pun- 
ished you to-day.” 

From the day she went a bride to Poplar Hill, we 
have followed her. Now sad changes are about to 
take place. The government is determined to up- 
root slavery — ^just what we have depicted in cruelty. 
A clarion-call to arms rings through the land, the 
smouldering fires of rebellion burst into flame, and 
fair fields, where erstwhile flowers blushed and 
bloomed, are soon to be incarnadined with blood. 
Marcellus Morgan is clamorous for fight ; but, like 
many others as cowardly as himself, he does not 
care to enter the lists and risk his precious life in 
the “ struggle for freedom” that he talks so loudly 
about. Ah ! had all Southerners been craven and 
despicable as Marcellus — had Jackson, Lee, Wise, 
and the thousands who girded up their loins and 
rushed to the battle’s van, been as currish and cow- 
ardly as he was, the war would have had a speedier 
termination, and fewer homes would have been made 
desolate. 


A NIGHT OF TEUBOB. 


113 


We say the war-cry vibrated through the land. 
Mr. Morgan thought that his slaves would surely 
leave him, and that perhaps his mansion might be 
burned by the Union troops, so he was much per- 
turbed what to do. He thought of removing to some 
other place. Upon hearing this news, Annah’s sis- 
ter Betsey paid her a visit. She was then a young 
widow, with one beautiful little blue-eyed daughter. 
Mrs. Morgan was delighted to have her sister visit 
her, for she had been previously most of the time 
alone. Soon a battle was expected to be fought near 
Carter’s Creek, which was in close proximity to Oak 
Lawn, and of course none were more interested than 
Morgan, who fought bravely — with his tongue. 

One evening, when the excitement was at its great- 
est height, Annah, after kissing her little niece and 
bidding her sister good-night, retired to rest ; but 
she could not sleep, and watched her femme de 
chamlyre, whose regular breathing caused her mis- 
tress to envy her peaceful repose. Suddenly the 
girl awoke, and sitting upright, said in a loud 
whisper ; 

“ Miss Annah !” 

“Well, Eebecca, what is the matter? Have you 
been dreaming ?” 

“ Miss Annah, does ye year dat mournful holler ?” 

Mrs. Morgan listened intently ; all was silent ; 


114 


THE GOLDEN LADDER 


the stillness of the night seemed as profound as its 
beauty. 

“ I heard it when I brung in your supper — and 
dere ! I year it now.” ^ 

Again Mrs. Morgan inclined her ear to the open 
window, and this time she, too, heard a sound which 
made her blood creep with mysterious horror. She 
slowly approached the casement, as slowly followed 
by Eebecca, who, too faithful to leave her mistress, 
yet felt every particular fiber of wool standing on 
end with fright. 

Again that mysterious cry arose on the night air, 
and again all was silent ; 'the stillness became pro- 
found. Toward the left of the house, and in that 
direction whence the sounds had appeared to come, 
was a dense and quite extensive forest ; giant oaks, 
maples, and pines, with many others of smaller 
growth, formed a sort of wilderness. Into the depths 
of this wilderness the eyes of Annah vainly strove to 
pierce. It was into this swamp that she had once 
fled for refuge from the assaults of her brutal hus- 
band. Ah ! the remembrance of that fearful night 
haunted her for years. Then again all was silent. 

“I hear nothing, Eebecca,” whispered her mis- 
tress, relieved to recognize the sound of her own 
natural voice, so unnatural had that other sound 
made all around appear. 


A NIGHT OF TEBBOB. 


115 


“ You year soon, Missus,” said tlie trembling maid. 
“ I year um dis ebening ; you year um soon ; wake 
me up, an I year twice ; soon come agin.” 

Alas ! it did come soon again, once, twice, thrice, 
at intervals of a minute between each. The first time, 
as the long, melancholy wail arose on the solemn 
stillness of the night, Annah felt her young blood 
freeze in her veins. When next it smote her ear, 
that organ told her heart that it was a human cry. 
The third echoing shriek convinced her that none 
but human lips in their agony could give vent to 
such a sound, and she knew that some one required 
and must receive assistance. “ I will awaken my 
sister,” was Annah’s next thought ; but then she 
recalled the ill and nervous state into which recent 
trouble had plunged Bettie, and she determined that 
her sister should, if possible, remain undisturbed. 
“ Where, then, is my husband — he who should be at 
hand to protect me, and to render assistance, if ne- 
cessary,” thought the neglected wife. 

The master of the house had become almost a 
stranger at his own home, so rare had his presence 
there been of late. 

“ Oh ! if my dear father views me from the happy 
land beyond the skies, does not he pity his sorrow- 
ing child ? Why was I ever called the Jewel ? Are 
not my qualities the same now as then? Age has 


116 


THE GOLDEN LADDER. 


not come to dim my luster. Nay, I have lived and 
suffered to but little purpose, if time and trouble have 
not somewhat improved and subdued me. Is there 
a cause for my husband’s uukindness and desertion ? 
Yes, there is a cause. ’Tis the fickleness, the in- 
constancy, the degrading selfishness of man. Were 
I an angel, it would be impossible to retain the 
affections of such a being as Marcellus Morgan. 

'These thoughts coursed through the brain of 
Annah, while, by a counter-working of the mind, 
she had determined to venture into the forest. Re- 
becca earnestly endeavored to dissuade her mistress 
from putting this plan into execution, but finding 
her determined to venture, the faithful creature 
resolved to follow to the issue. Cowardice is the 
idiosyncracy of the African. 

All about the house remained silent. Ever and 
anon that cry disturbed the midnight air ; the only 
sound that broke the deathlike stillness. Wrapping 
themselves in large dark shawls, mistress and maid 
stole noiselessly from the house, and crept carefully 
down tha avenue leading to the woods. In about a 
quarter of an hour they had entered the forest, and 
stood tremblingly beneath the dark shadow of some 
young pines. The sounds had ceased, and although 
like most forests this was alive with the smaller 
animals, by night quite as much as by day, every- 


A NIGHT OF TFBROIt. II7 

thing at that moment seemed stilled to the silence 
of death. 

In a whisper, low as the softest breath of the 
night wind, Annah informed the trembling girl 
beside her that she awaited a recurrence of the 
dreadful sound, in order to learn in what direction 
to proceed. Scarcely had she ceased to speak 
when, as if at the sound of her voice, that cry 
again rang in their ears. Annah felt her blood 
curdle at this evidence of mortal presence not far 
distant. She turned her head to the direction from 
whence the noise proceeded. Upon hearing the 
cry nearer, whatever it was, it seemed to have lost 
the evidence of suffering. Annah knew not where- 
fore, but it recalled what she had read of strange 
sounds heard in wild countries in times of warfare. 
Mrs. Morgan and her servant had penetrated much 
deeper into the wood than they were aware of, and 
had unconsciously halted in a spot most favorable 
to concealment and to reconnoitering. “ Come,” 
said she, at length, ashamed of her fears while 
engaged in the rescue of suffering humanity. 

Scarcely had she spoken, when, in a direction 
opposite to that in which she had been going, she 
beheld two dark forms stealing noiselessly along. 
As the swaying of the young trees in the rising 
wind let in a rift of moonlight, Annah recognized 


118 


THE GOLDEN LADDER. 


two of her husband’s servants. Like snakes thev 
crept along, glancing timidly around, as if fearful 
of momentary detection. Suddenly one of them, 
though cautiously advancing, trod upon a dry twig ; 
it snapped and disturbed some rustling leaves. 
They instantly paused, and became motionless ; 
not less statue-like were the breathless women 
beneath the . shadow of the young pines. Five 
minutes might have passed in this manner, during 
which the four seemed scarcely to respire. The 
midnight call was now explained. Into Annah’s 
remembrance rushed all she had ever heard of 
robbery, assassinations, and massacres. Late dep- 
redations had been committed in the neighbor- 
hood, extensive burglaries, and one gentleman had 
been dangerously, if not fatally wounded while 
defending his household. It was known that a 
bold and desperate band was abroad, headed by a 
lawless desperado, and as yet no arrests had been 
made. 

While these facts rushed upon Annah’s mind 
the two men seemed to become satisfied that they 
had been watched by no inimical eye. For some 
time they conversed eagerly together. Ann ah 
strained every nerve listening ; but only the sound 
of their subdued voices met her ear; not a word 
could she overhear. Once, in her eagerness, she 


A NIGHT OF TERBOB. 


119 


moved her hand to put aside the heavy tresses, 
damp with the dew, which had fallen over her 
brow; in raising her arm, it struck against a rotten 
branch, which fell to the ground. The conspirators 
started, and one, a huge, brawny man, advanced 
a step directly toward the place where the trembling 
females crouched concealed. His companion re- 
strained the movement, and for a little while the 
motionless quartette again remained almost breath- 
less. At length the men moved rapidly and silently 
away in the direction from whence the peculiar cry 
had proceeded. Annah silently prepared to follow 
them. 

“ Whar you gVine, Missus ?” inquired her terri- 
fied companion, clutching the skirts of her mistress’ 
robe. 

“ To follow those men, to see what this can mean, 
to endeavor to discover the extent of the danger 
that menaces us,” replied Annah firmly. She had 
ceased to tremble, excepting from excitement — she 
was heroic in everything through life, save in de- 
fending herself from Morgan’s tyranny. 

“ Missus, Missus, don’t go ; dey will kill us.” 

“ I have no fear, Eebecca. You need not accom- 
pany me, poor girl. Eemain here until my return ; 
no one will discover you in this retreat.” 

“ Missus, guess if you go I go too,” answered the 


120 


TBB GOLDEN LADDER. 


faithful creature, and then artfully added : “ Better 
fust go warn Miss Bettie ; suppose dese men git 
dare fust, kill her sure.” 

“ True, true, Rebecca !” her mistress replied. 

Let us first go to the house.” 

Hurriedly, but cautiously, they pursued their way 
back to the house. What thoughts swept through 
the mind of Annah ! A sense of loneliness, of deso- 
lation, of absence of natural protection, rushed over 
her. For a time the timid, suffering woman’s na- 
ture prevailed ; soon, however, her heroism resumed 
its sway. On arriving at the house, she instantly 
sought her sister’s room. Bettie was up and 
dressed. She had also heard the mysterious cry, 
and had been to her sister’s room, which, to her 
terror, she had found unoccupied. 

Bettie was now kneeling beside her bed, with her 
child clasped to her throbbing breast. ‘‘ My father- 
less child !” murmured the unhappy woman. 

In a few words Annah explained the state of the 
case, and added that she feared all of the male 
servants must be in collusion with the robbers ; in 
fact, that as there was no one to protect them, she 
thought they had better fly while there was yet time. 

“ Fly !” repeated Bettie ; “ why, they will track 
us wherever we go.” And she clasped the sleeping 
child still closer to her bosom. 


A NIGHT OF TEBROB, 


121 


“ Where, oh, where is Mr. Morgan ?” cried Bet- 
tie, as Annah stood with downcast eyes, in deep 
reflection. 

“ Absent, as usual,” she said, scarce conscious 
that she spoke aloud. 

“ Away at such a time as this, sister ! What sort 
of a man is he ?” cried Bettie, indignation awaken- 
ing something like spirit in her, 

Annah roused herself from the deep reverie into 
which she had fallen. 

“ This is no time in which to discuss the merits 
or failings of Marcellus Morgan,” she said, a little 
sternly. “ It behooves us to fly, and that instantly. 
Delay is not only dangerous, but perhaps death.” 

The energy and presence of mind of Annah re- 
turned as if by magic. Wrapping a large, warm 
cloak about her sister, without once thinking of her 
own apparel, she prepared to depart. Involuntarily 
they paused as they reached the outer door ; to go 
was fearful, to remain was still more dangerous. 
Swiftly they passed the threshold and gained the 
eastern park. 

“ We must cross that hill,” said Annah, in a cau- 
tious voice ; there is safety on the other side.” 

On they went. Annah knew that she had not 
exaggerated the danger ; in fact, it was greater even 
than she imagined, for the lawless plunderers ab 
6 


122 


THE GOLDEN LADDER. 


lowed nothing to stand in the way of gaining their 
ends, and would kill rather than go away without 
spoil. 

“ I can go no further,” said Bettie, faintly, who 
was still an invalid. 

‘‘ Elizabeth !” exclaimed the firm voice of her 
sister, “give me the infant and follow.” She at- 
tempted to take the child. 

The little sleeper opened its sweet blue eyes, 
looked wonderingly at the unwonted ^ene around, 
and, with a faint cry, resisted the endeU-vor of its 
aunt. Bettie strained her child to her heart. 

“ Let me keep her, Annah,” she said in a trem- 
bling voice. “ If you take her, she will cry out, and 
betray us ; with her mother she will remain quiet.” 

Annah felt no physical pain, but poor Bettie 
had lost one of her shoes, her feet were cruelly 
assailed by the briers, and she complained bitterly. 
Annah said nothing ; she perceived that her sister 
was almost beside herself with fear. 

They walked rapidly, and had now reached a 
small skirt of pines ; for a moment they paused 
beneath the shadows, while Annah considered 
whether it would be best to fiy further. Suddenly 
she shrank back, and, grasping Bettie by the arm, 
the sisters stood as though turned to stone. A 
tall figure glided by. The flickering light admitted 


A NIGHT OF TERROB. 


123 


by the lightly swaying branches lent an unnatural 
appearance to everything in the eyes of the fugitives, 
so excited were they by fear. Ever and anon, the 
form would pause awhile, and then resume its 
course ; finally it disappeared in the gloom cast by 
the trees. Five minutes passed before the sisters 
dared to respire freely. 

“ Annah,” whispered Bettie, “I am almost certain 
that person was a white man.” 

Annah had arrived at the same conclusion. 

“ In times like these there is no telling whom to 
trust,” said Annah. “ We would gain nothing, and 
perhaps risk all, by accosting any one. Come, 
follow ; I think that I can guide you to a nook 
inaccessible, or rather unknown to the marauders.” 

They resumed their weary way, poor Kebecca, 
the little slave-girl, first holding on to Annah’s dress 
and then to that of Bettie, and penetrated some 
distance into the forest, where, having reached a 
most secluded spot, they sank down from sheer 
fatigue. An hour passed without a word having 
been spoken on either side. Then the infant became 
restless; Bettie endeavored to sooth it, and shud- 
dered lest its tiny voice should betray them. At 
last Annah proposed that they should endeavor to 
make the best of their way to the house of a certain 
neighbor. 


124 


THE GOLDEN LADDER 


Annah,” said her sister, “ the' dogs would tear 
us to pieces were we to venture there at this hour of 
the night. You must recollect that even in the day- 
time it requires two or three men to keep them from 
assaulting visitors.” 

“We are in the hands of God, and his guardian 
angels will preserve us from harm,” returned Annah. 
“The same Power that saved the faithful of old, 
amid their trials and tribulations, wUl bring us out 
of danger to-night. I know not how it is, but fear 
has utterly gone out of my heart ; I believe that we 
shall not be destroyed to-night, and I almost wish 
that we had remained in the house.” 

“Self-preservation is the first law of nature!” 
murmured Bettie ; “and oh! sister, you have no 
child.” 

What a tender glance Annah cast upon the little 
innocent ! what a volume it revealed ! 

“For of such is the kingdom of heaven!” she 
murmured, laying her hand upon the young child’s 
head, and holy was the smile which at that moment 
illumined her features. 

What memories were stirred in Annah’s heart as 
she stood there that night — memories long stilled, 
and never willingly recalled, because she had long 
been a wife. But to-night the voice of her heart 
would be heard. “ Adrian ! Adrian !” was its cry of 


A NIGHT OF TERBOB. 


125 


anguish. The night breeze seemed to take up the 
wailing cry, and ‘‘Adrian! Adrian!” was wafted 
away on the wings of the wind — away, away ! and 
from indefinite distance came to Annah’s ears 
the plaintive echo : “ Adrian ! Adrian !” It was 

the voice of the years that had gone ! Ah ! he 
whom she so passionately invoked was far away 
across, the broad Atlantic, unconscious of the peril 
to which his beloved one Avas exposed. Bettie had 
heard of him as the reputed admirer of her sister ; 
but, between the sisters, never had his name been 
mentioned. Mrs. Morgan, even as Annah Foy, had 
never revealed the secret of her affections to any 
one except Julia Morrison — to but two on earth had 
the sweet sad tale ever been told, and one, her lover, 
had no power, alas ! she gave him no power, to take 
her to his protecting heart. Her aunt had effect- 
ually clipped the wings of happiness, and cast her 
into the Sahara, over whose burning sands she was 
now traveling. A wailing cry from the babe aroused 
Annah from her bitter thoughts. She looked down 
and caught the tender glance of her sister. The 
blood rushed to her face, she asked herself not 
wherefore ? For a moment she was bewildered ; so 
deeply had memory been stirred, her glancing eye 
seemed to ask what is this, and how came I hither ? 


CHAPTEE XIII. 


SHELTERED. 



around her. Now thoroughly aroused, she 


^NNAH accused herself of selfishness in so 
long having forgotten, in her dreams, those 


‘‘ Bettie, I really think that we had better attempt 
to reach Dr. Yerbie’s as soon as possible. If our 
house has been really attacked, that of our kind phy- 
sician is the best place for us ; on the other hand, 
should this prove to be a false alarm, it will appear 
much more dignified and proper for us to return 
home to-morrow morning in good Dr. Yerbie’s car- « 
riage, than to promenade Indian file and en dishabille 
out of this forest. 

Betty perceived that it would be unreasonable to 
demur, and forthwith they took up their march \ 
toward the residence of the physician. Not with- i 
out fear of the before-mentioned dogs did they ap- 
proach the house ; Bettie, especially, trembled with 
terror. 

“ Eemain here, with Eebecca,” said Annah, with 
kind consideration, ‘‘ while I go on to reconnoiter.” 


SHELTERED. 


127 


Bettie refused, declaring that she would share the 
danger, if danger there was ; but Annah was firm, 
and the young mother sat down to rest her weary 
limbs. Cautiously Annah approached the house ; 
all seemed wrapped in profound stillness ; the very 
spirit of silence seemed there to have taken up its 
abode. Step by step, Annah advanced, expecting 
every moment to hear the bark and rush of the dogs. 
To her extreme surprise, she neither heard nor saw 
them. Looking up intently, to perceive if there 
were any lights in the windows, she nearly fell over 
something in her pathway. Kecovering her equilib- 
rium, she recoiled several steps, as she perceived 
that she had stumbled over the dead body of a dog. 

“ This is very extraordinary !” she murmured. 
Several moments elapsed before she gathered cour- 
age to proceed. By degrees, she timidly approached 
the kitchen door ; sounds of deep breathing within 
served to convince her that here, at least, they felt 
no alarm. Cautiously raising the latch, she entered. 
A dark form lay extended before the kitchen fire- 
place. By the aid of a ray of light that fell through 
a shutterless window, Annah perceived the pros- 
trate figure to be that of a woman, and a closer look 
enabled her to distinguish the sable features of good 
old Judy, the cook. The woman was well known to 
Annah, who had formerly been enabled to extend 


128 


TEE GOLDEN LADDER. 


to Judy many favors. Leaning over the sleeping 
woman, Annah endeavored to arouse her. At that 
moment the mysterious cry again sounded in her 
ears, long drawn out, and rising preternaturally 
upon the midnight air. 

Aunt Judy ! Judy ! for heaven’s sake, awake ! 
arouse yourself, and summon your master !” 

The woman turned and groaned heavily in her 
sleep. One who undertakes to hastily awaken a 
sleeping African enters upon no easy task. Again 
that cry, and the agonized Annah bethought her 
of Bettie and the child left in the outskirts of the 
woods. 

“ Judy ! Judy !” she cried, “ oh ! awake, awake !” 

The half-roused woman opened her eyes and 
raised herself on one arm. 

“ Who calls Judy ?” she asked ; for, although her 
name was Jenny, yet she was generally called Judy. 
“ Who calls Judy ? ’Taint time to get up yet, ’pears 
like.” 

Then she beheld the w^hite-robed figure of Annah, 
who had lost her shawl in her fiight, and who had left 
home protected by no more substantial costume than 
a muslin wrapper. Of all human beings a negro is 
the most superstitious, firmly believing in the most 
unaccountable spiritual visitations. Judy shrank 
up into as small a space as her vast proportions 


SHELTERED 


129 

would allow ; lier teeth chattered, and Annah could 
perceive the trembling of her form. 

“ Lord, is de Yankees come ?” she cried. 

‘‘Judy!” said Annah, gently advancing a step. 

Just then a long, wailing, fearful sound floated 
on the air, and an instant after another white figure 
rushed into the dim kitchen. The horror-stricken 
Judy at length found her voice, and she made the 
apartment ring with her shrieks. The new-comer 
was Bettie, wdiom that cry had frightened from the 
woods. Annah heard the inmates of the house 
rousing themselves, and while she was endeavoring 
to pacify the terrified cook, the doctor entered, with 
a lighted candle in his hand. 

“ God bless my soul !” he ejaculated, as he caught 
sight of the white-robed invaders, and nearly drop- 
ped the luminary, “ whom have we here ? What in 
heaven’s name has happened? Are you all dead, 
or dying ?” 

“ Not quite dead. Doctor,” replied Annah, faintly 
smiling ; “but some of us very nearly so. If you 
will now kindly take us in and do for us, as you 
are fond of saying, we will enlighten you as to 
the reason of our extraordinary advent at this 
hour.” 

“ I thought the army of the Potomac had arrived,” 
said the Doctor. He had scarcely ceased speaking 
6 * 


130 


THE GOLDEN LADDER. 


■when again the mysterious cry arose. The Doctor 
started ; he looked piercingly at the cook, who, with 
distended, incredulous eyes, rolling from Annah to 
her sister, seemed still unable to believe the evidence 
of her senses. The ph^^sician went to the door — it 
still wanted some hours to daylight. 

“ It is strange that the dogs are all so silent, 
did none of them bark as you approached?” he 
asked. 

“ I have heard no sounds excepting that cry, and 
Jennie’s shrieks,” replied Annah, significantly. 

The Doctor reflected deeply for a moment ; then 
he said : 

“ But come, I forget myself strangely ! You both 
look exhausted, and so ghostly that I do not wonder 
Judy was frightened out of her wits. Come into 
the house, ladies.” 

They followed the Doctor into the parlor, where 
they found Mrs. Yerbie and her daughters were 
up and already dressed. Befreshments were 
offered, and Annah, after taking a glass of wine, 
briefly explained the occurrences of the night. The 
Doctor’s sons were absent from home in another 
portion of the State, but the brave old man ordered 
plenty of lights to be shown, and declared that as 
his fire-arms were in capital order in case of attack, 
he meant to arm the ladies. Meanwhile Judy had 


8HELTEBED. 


131 


sufficiently recovered as to feel enabled to carefully 
lock and bolt all of the doors. 

“ The circumstances you relate, ladies,” said the 
Doctor, are very suspicious — ” here he was inter- 
rupted by Bettie, who had swooned upon the sofa. 
Fright and over-exertion had been too much for 
her feeble frame. That night, upon retiring, she 
had taken a hot drink, and was in a profuse per- 
spiration when terror had driven her from the 
house, and now she had fainted from the effects of 
reaction! It was some time before she recovered 
and could be got comfortably to bed. 

Annah, whom fatigue forced to recline upon a 
sofa, and yet who could not sleep, was still convers- 
ing with the Doctor, when one of the young ladies 
came in to say that she feared Mrs. Hope, Bettie, 
was very ill. Annah flew to the bedside of her 
sister, followed by the physician. Poor Bettie was 
found to be in a burning fever. 

“Was Mr. Morgan at home when you left?” 
suddenly inquired the Doctor of Annah, who hung 
anxiously over her sister. 

“ He was not,” she answered. 

“ When did he leave home ?” 

“ Immediately after an early tea — ” 

“ And has not since returned ?” 

“No, Doctor.” 


132 


THE GOLDEN LADDER 


“ That is very strange ; he was here about eight 
o’clock last evening. We invited him to remain 
longer with us ; but he declined, saying that he 
must return, as Bettie and yourself were at home 
alone.” 

Annah’s beautiful lip curled, but she simply re- 
marked : 

“ Had he been at home, we would have had 
courage to remain there.” 

Bettie’s fever increased so rapidly, and she ap- 
peared so very ill, that in Annah’s mind the sense 
of every other danger was absorbed. She scarcely 
heard the announcement wrathfully made by the 
Doctor, that his fine and valuable dogs had all 
been poisoned. 

Bettie became delirious — and what of mental suf- 
fering does not delirium reveal ? 

“ My dear,” said the kind wife of the physician 
to Annah, “ you must now go and lie down ; you 
absolutely require rest. I will take care of your 
sister.” 

‘‘My dear friend,” replied Annah, taking her 
hands in her own, “ look at me ; do I appear 
weary ? I am strong, I am well ; I could not sleep 
were I to go to bed. I cannot leave my sister. See, 
here is a comfortable lounge ; on it I will recline, 
so that I can both watch and rest. You go and 


SHELTEBED. 


133 


sleep, and afterward I promise you, I will take 
my turn. It would be impossible for me to slum- 
ber now.” 

Mrs. Yerbie looked at the flushed face and lumin- 
ous eyes of Annah Morgan, and saw that she was, 
indeed, still too much excited to sleep, so she herself 
retired to obtain some repose, necessary in order to 
enable her to take her turn in the sick-room. 

Left to herself, Annah breathed a sigh of relief. 
She went to the bedside and leaned over the young 
widow, whose delirium had, however, somewhat 
abated. The patient breathed quick and heavy, 
but toward daylight fell into an uneasy slumber. 
Annah watched, listened, and reflected. 

Had they flown only from a fancied danger, or 
had there been real cause of alarm ? At any rate, 
they were safer here than in an unprotected house. 

What a world of shifting scenes is this !” pon- 
dered Annah. “Little thought I, as last eve I 
watched the early moon, that this morning’s dawn 
would behold such a scene of suffering! Beloved 
sister! Poor little innocent!” she said Sloud, as 
she looked upon the sleeping babe, “God alone 
knows what is in store for thee !” 

Rising, she again moistened the lips of the sufferer, 
whose slumber was becoming more tranquil, and 
then approached the window; the sight that met 


134 


THE GOLDEN LADDER, 


her eyes wrapped her poetic soul in adoration. 
Day was just breaking in the golden east, and the 
deep obscurity which precedes the dawn had begun 
to yield to the returning light. 

Will the reader permit us to quote at large from 
our immortal novelist ? 

“ If any earthly scene could be presented to the 
senses of man that might soothe his passions and 
temper his ferocity, it was that which grew upon 
the eyes of the beholders as the advancing hours 
changed night into morning. There were the usual 
soft tints of the sky, in which neither the gloom of 
darkness nor the brilliancy of the sun prevails, and 
under which objects appear more unearthly, and, we 
might add, holy, than at any other portion of the 
twenty-four hours. The beautiful and soothing calm 
of eventide has been extolled by a thousand poets, 
and yet it does not bring with it the far-reaching and 
sublime thoughts of the half-hour that precedes the 
rising sun. In the one case the panorama is gradu- 
ally hid from the sight, while in the other its objects 
start out from the unfolding picture, first dim and 
misty, then marked in, in solemn background ; next 
seen in the witchery of an increasing, a thing as 
different as possible from the decreasing twilight, and, 
finally, mellow, distinct, and luminous as the rays of 
the great center of light diffuse themselves in the 


8HELTEBED. 


135 


atmosphere. The hymns of birds, too, have no 
novel counterpart in the retreat to the roost, or the 
flight to the nest ; and these invariably accompany 
the advent of the day until the appearance of the 
sun itself 

‘ Bathes in deep joy the land and sea.’ ” 

As the day grew upon her vision, the sense of 
security which almost always accompanies returning 
light after a night of fear, stole into the heart of 
Annah. As objects became more distinct in the in- 
creasing light, it was strange that they seemed to 
fade and dim before the eyes of the unconsciously 
weary watcher. She turned her languid eyes toward 
the bed ; the rest of the patient appeared unbroken ; 
she glanced at the quiet infant, she turned again to 
the window. Ah ! sleep overpowered her senses, 
gradually her heavy head sank down, as a flower 
over-freighted with dew, and thought, feeling, sight 
became “ steeped in oblivion.” 

When Annah awoke, the bright day was in full 
career. At first she knew not where she was — could 
not recall what had happened. Some kind hand 
had placed a pillow under her head, and thrown 
a shawl around her. From the sounds that reached 
her ear she concluded that the household were at 
breakfast. She attempted to rise, but sank back, 
feeling that her limbs ached. Another attempt en- 


136 


THE GOLDEN LADDER. 


abled her to regain her feet. Her eyes sought the 
bed ; the figure extended there was no unsubstantial 
vision. Annah approached; the sufferer appeared 
to sleep profoundly. The babe had been removed 
from the room, Annah well knew by whose kind 
care. 

Mrs. Morgan, after a refreshing ablution, sought 
the breakfast-room, where she found the whole 
family assembled, all of whom vied with each other 
in kind attentions to their favorite, Annah. The 
good Doctor signalized the occasion by teasing Mrs. 
Morgan about her oft-boasted bravery, telling her 
that she made but a sorry heroine after all. As they 
arose from the breakfast-table, Judy came in to state 
that Mr. Morgan had been over to inquire if his wife 
was there, and upon being answered in the affirma- 
tive had swore quite obstreperous.” 

“ He g’wine sen for yer dis morning, Miss Annah,” 
added Judy, dropping a courtesy as she spoke ; “ but 
he done say dat de berry nex time yer turn fool an 
run ’way in de night, you kin git home de bes way 
yer kin ; he say dat de Yankees aint nowhar near 
him, and if dey war, dat Stone- Wall Jackson can 
whip de warld, and de Yankees too.” 

Shortly after breakfast a one-horse cart was 
driven up to the gate, and the driver inquired for 
Mrs. Morgan. This was the equipage sent by Mar- 


SHELTERED. 


137 


cellus to convey to her home his alarmed wife ! 
The indignant physician offered his carriage ; but 
Annah, affecting to view the conduct of her husband 
in the light of a joke, declared that she would ac- 
cept of no conveyance but that so courteously pro- 
vided for her. 

“ The rascal !” muttered the irate physician to 
himself. ‘‘ To think that he would dare to ill-use 
such a woman !” 

Bettie, of course, was not sufficiently recovered to 
be removed, and Annah took her leave, saying that, 
after explaining the reason of their flight to Mr. 
Morgan, she would return to assist in the care of 
her sister. As she drove up to the door of her 
home, Morgan was crossing the garden, but he did 
not deign to notice her. When, some time after, he 
entered the room, he said in a sarcastic tone, 

“ How did you enjoy a drive in the cart 

‘‘Oh, very well, indeed,” she replied, cheerfully. 
“ It certainly had the advantage of novelty.” 

“ I will bring your pride low before I have done 
with you, Madam,” he said, with a tremendous 
oath. 

Mr. Morgan had more reasons than one for being 
unusually unsociable that morning. It seemed that 
the fears and flight of his wife were not without 
cause. Their fowl-houses had been robbed in the 


138 


THE GOLDEN LADDER. 


night, the thieves halving had their own way. But 
this was not the cause of the strange noise and 
mournful cries that had frightened Annah and Re- 
becca. They emanated from two of Morgan’s col- 
ored women who had gone into the dark swamp to 
collect light wood, had lost their road, been be- 
nighted, and were unable to find their way out of 
the forest until daylight aided them. 

Morgan had been on a visit to one of his female 
friends that night, and he had forgotten the dan- 
gers that menaced his household in this time of 
war while basking in the smiles of his inamorata. 
Had he been at home, as it was his duty to be, the 
disaster might have been avoided ; but it did not 
please him to feel that the loss was his own fault. 
Annah shuddered when she heard that another 
house had been entered, and that a woman who 
gave the alarm and resisted the robbers had been 
most brutally maltreated. 

The marauders belonged to the Northern army ; 
a band of them had forcibly entered the house, 
and an officer had ransacked ' the bureau drawers 
and appropriated the bridal trousseau of a young 
lady, while his men made free with whatever edibles 
and drinkables they could lay their lawless hands 
on. 

There was an amusing incident connected with 


SHELTERED. 


139 


this robbery. The officer, after despoiling the 
wardrobe of the affianced girl, sought to extend his 
depredations to her mother’s effects ; but the old 
lady seized a broomstick and so belabored the cow- 
ardly cur, that he was only too glad to seek refuge 
in flight, followed by the jeers of his insubordinate 


men. 


CHAPTEE XIV. 


THE GBEEN-EYED MONSTER. 



iHEN, after a few days, her sister returned 
to her house, Annah was shocked to per- 
ceive the sad alteration in her appearance. 
And, indeed, the decay of Bettie’s health 
might be dated from that night of fear and ex- 
posure. Her cold developed into a cough that 
nothing could assuage. Marcellus Morgan was, of 
course, accessory to her illness. But Annah saw no 
signs of amendment or remorse in Marcellus. He 
was like the Eev. Pilate Patter, who had married 
Mrs. Mary Foy, and who wanted a long cloak with 
which to cover his conduct. Patter and Morgan 
were warm friends — if one could call friendship any 
sentiment existing between two such unprincipled 
hearts. 

The young widow, feeling unwilling to remain 
longer in Morgan’s house, wrote to the reverend 
gentleman, her stepmother’s husband, that she was 
ill and desired to return home. In a, few days Mr. 
Patter arrived. Bettie had some money, and Pat- 


TEE GREEN-EYED MONSTER. 


141 


ter thought best to humor her when it did not too 
much inconvenience himself. He arrived, bringing 
his long coat, white cravat, and standing collar as 
stiff with starch as the owner was with sin. Could 
one have looked into his heart, he would, have be- 
held there a host of peacocks, toads, and other 
loathsome objects. The peacock is said to denote 
pride, the toad pomposity ; and if ever there was a 
pompous egotist with a cloven foot, it was the Rev 
Pilate Patter. 

Annah accompanied her sister home, and remained 
with her a few days. While crossing the Chesapeake 
Bay, Mr. Patter conversed with Annah about her 
father’s will. This will ordained, that, if Andrew, 
Annah’s brother, died before arriving at the age of 
twenty-one his portion of the property was to be 
equally divided among the other heirs. The other 
gentleman pretended to believe that the health of 
the youth was too delicate to admit of a hope of 
his arriving at manhood ; but Annah saw his drift 
and did not encourage the conversation. 

“Well,” said the mercenary parson at last, “I am 
afraid the slaves will soon be freed altogether, so I 
shall endeavor to sell Andrew’s as soon as possible.” 

But he was foiled in his attempt to get possession 
of his step-son’s dollars, for the judge to whom he 
applied for permission to take this step, peremptorily 


142 


THE GOLDEN LADDER. 


refused to grant his application, far seeing that the 
wily minister meditated defrauding the infant heir. 

Bettie could not conceal from her sister that she 
was glad — very glad, to return home ; nor could 
Ann ah blame any one for disliking to dwell beneath 
the same roof as Marcellus Morgan. 

Mrs. Morgan returned with her sister, passed a 
few days in the country, then taking leave, a tearful 
leave, of her sister, and the little blue-eyed Mollie, 
started once more for the Rappahannock, to dwell in 
a dungeon at Oak Lawn — a palace would a prison 
prove, were it poisoned with the presence of Mar- 
cellus. 

He did not, would not, go with the army, but 
stayed at home, and blew a bellows. 

There are few, we trust very few, whose own 
experience enables them to comprehend the miseries 
endured by Annah during the twelve years that she 
was the wife of Marcellus Morgan. She had made 
up her mind to bear as bravely as she could the 
conduct of her husband, for alas ! she could perceive 
no hope of a reformation. Bettie had been a source 
of great comfort to Annah during the few weeks she 
had resided with her, and it was a severe trial to 
part with her and the baby. But she engaged in 
the domestic affairs, and endeavored to be ever 
cheerful. 


THE OBEEN-ETED M0N8TEB. 


143 


A short time after her return home she was 
invited to a wedding-party. While making prepara- 
tions to attend the festivities, what fantastic thoughts 
engaged the brain of our heroine ! 

“Josephine was happy on the Island of Mar- 
tinique,” thought she, “but did greatness enhance 
her happiness ? Her husband truly loved her, and 
yet he left her for another. Mine loves me not, and 
yet, and yet. Ah !” with a deep-drawn sigh — 
“ there must be wisdom in all the mysterious afflic- 
tions that are showered upon mortals.” 

The day arrived, and when the wife of Marcellus 
was duly adorned for the occasion, she looked 
herself like a beautiful bride. Her luxuriant hair 
was allowed to flow in natural ringlets, in which 
was entwined a delicate spray of orange-flowers. 
Scarcely whiter than her neck were the orient 
pearls by which it was encircled ; perfect in every 
particular was her elegant costume ; to quote a 
well-known thought — 

“Her garments were rich, and she wore them most gracefully.’' 

When she descended to the room where Marcel- 
lus awaited her, he could not help starting at the 
vision of loveliness. 

“ Do I suit you, Mr. Morgan ?” she gently asked, 
observing that he was regarding her attentively. 


144 


THE GOLDEN LADDER. 


“ Yes ! you look very well this evening. Come, the 
carriage is waiting,” he replied. 

After a long silent drive they reached the palatial 
residence of Colonel Carter, Fleet’s Bay. 

The grounds were filled with carriages. As Mor- 
gan’s dashing equipage drove up, all eyes were 
attracted to the new arrival. When Annah alighted 
a murmur of admiration ran through the crowd. 
She heard her name repeated more than once, and 
encomiums pronounced upon her beauty. She felt 
somewhat confused, this being the first time that 
she had ever visited Northumberland County. In 
that direction, of course, she met many strangers. 

They were ushered into a dark room, but, almost 
instantaneously, at least two dozen wax candles, 
that were in silver brackets on the walls, were 
lighted, and a very pretty effect was caused by 
the rich jewels in the coiffures of fair ladies scin- 
tillating in the mellow irradiance that they shed 
around. 

The intended bride. Miss Alice Carter, was a very 
lovely creature, with soft blue eyes, dazzlingly fair 
skin, and a beautiful mouth. The smile on her lip 
and the expression of her mild eyes immediately 
prepossessed Annah in her favor. The bridegroom- 

elect, Mr. William K , was one of the wealthiest 

men in the country. 


TEE OBEENETED MONSTER. 


145 


As Annah saw the fair girl yield her hand to the 
man who in a few moments was to be made the 
arbiter of her destiny, a chill ran through her heart. 
Her own bridal-day rushed upon her memory. The 
bowing willow, the bursting billow, and the wide- 
spread green lawn all appeared before her like a 
scene of yesterday. God grant, sweet creature !” 
thought Annah, “that you may never, never have 
cause to regret leaving your father’s house. May 
you never learn how fickle, how inconstant is 
man!” 

The ceremony was over, and the happy couple 
were receiving congratulations. As Annah turned 
away, after having offered hers, she could not help 
overhearing some compliments paid her by the 
bride. The groom was intimately acquainted with 
Morgan’s family ; indeed, his property was situated 
in the same neighborhood. Annah received a great 
deal of attention during the evening, and more than 
once overheard the remark : 

“ How in the world came she to marry that man ? 
Why, I never saw so unequal a match. The dove 
and the crow! The jackdaw and the bird-of-para- 
dise ! She is certainly exceedingly intelligent, and 
is said to be very amiable. I am sure she looks so.” 

“ Yes,” said a young physician, “ the people on 
the other side of the Chesapeake must view faces 
7 


146 


THE GOLDEN LADDER, 


very differently from us. She is lovely, and he is a 
real ape.’* 

Annah’s cheeks burned to hear the man she was 
compelled to recognize as her husband pronounced 
an ape ; yet she could not blame people for so think- 
ing. “ The Golden Ladder ! the Golden Ladder ! 
Ah ! why did my avaricious aunt require me to scale 
it ?” she murmured. 

The evening passed off delightfully. All hearts 
seemed joyous ; but involuntarily a sigh would 
escape Annah’s sweet lips ; happiness was lost to 
her, and she was lost to her friends, and lost to 
society, for some of her relatives had not seen her 
since she was a child. At length Morgan came to 
inquire when she intended going home. 

“ Whenever you please, Mr. Morgan,” said Annah, 
gently. 

He looked dark and angry, so she knew that 
something had occurred to displease his lordship, 
and went to take leave of the “ happy pair.” The 
bridegroom said : 

“ Mrs. Morgan, to-morrow, at Mars Hill, we have 
a party ; Morgan and yourself must come over. 
Our invitations are verbal ; we have issued no cards 
for the dinner at my house.” 

“I shall be very happy to attend,” returned 
Annah, “ if Mr. Morgan pleases.” 


THE GBEEN-EYED MONSTER. 


147 


“ I shall please to stay at home, K , I think. 

I reckon we have had weddings enough now to last 
for some time,” said Morgan. 

‘‘ Oh !” said Mr. K , who saw that his guest 

had imbibed considerable wine, “ you must certainly 
come, Morgan. I wish my wife to become better 
acquainted with yours ; you are our nearest neigh- 
bors, recollect.” 

A few more words of adieu, and they went out to 
the carriage. Morgan stood like a statue, while his 
wife entered without assistance. Even after she 
was seated he did not move, but stood gazing at her 
savagely. 

“ Are you not coming, Mr. Morgan ?” said Annah, 
politely, although she could scarcely help laugh- 
ing at the ridiculous figure he presented. 

Mind your own business,” was the elegant reply 
she received. Then he suddenly made a rush for 
the door of the carriage, which came near being 
tom from the hinges by his violence. 

“ Drive like the devil !” he shouted to the coach- 
man, and the carriage dashed over roots, and down 
hills, and into gullies, swaying to and fro, in mo- 
mentary danger of being overturned. 

“ And you’ll know it when you catch me at any 
more frolics. Madam,” he added to his wife. 

Ah,” thought Annah, “ were the frolic but held 


148 


THE GOLDEN LADDEE. 


at the house of Kitty Fisher or Joice Powells, 
Mr. Morgan would be one of the most untiring 
guests.” 

“ Drive faster !” bawled Morgan to the driver ; 
the horses were then traveling at the top of their 
speed. ' 

When they arrived at their own gate, and the 
driver alighted to open it, Morgan caught the reins 
and jerked them savagely, to the great detriment of 
the poor horses, who were all in a foam. The gate 
flew open ; Morgan did not wait for the driver to 
resume the seat, but slashed away at the animals, as 
though determined to kill something or somebody 
that night. As soon as they stopped at the door he 
sprang out and rushed into the house, leaving Annah 
to take care of herself. When she entered her room 
Marcellus had already thrown himself on the bed, 
and he capped the climax, even before she had dis- 
robed, by ordering her, in a loud voice, “ to prepare 
to sleep upon the floor, for into bed she should not 
enter that night.” 

Annah made no reply, but was an unusual time 
in undressing, hoping that Morgan would fall asleep, 
and that then she could quietly leave the room. 
But the cruel and artful Bajezet was on the watch, 
and, as Annah was about to open the door he raised 
his head and called out : 


THE OBEEH-EYED M0N8TEB. 


149 


“ Where are you going, you beauty, as you were 
called this evening ? If you do not go back to that 
chair, and remain there. I’ll ‘ beautify’ you, and 
increase your vast stock of ‘intelligence.’ Sharp 
as you are, you are not quite sharp enough for 
Marcellus Morgan.” 

“ Mr. Morgan,” said Annah, allow me to leave 
the room. I am fatigued and wish to lie down.” 

“ Lie on the carpet then. Though you are so 
perfect, I think I can improve you. I’ll make you 
altogether independent of creature comforts. Your 
queenly appearance is quite different now to what it 
was a few hours ago, when you promenaded Col. 
Carter’s parlors and every one paid homage to you. 
The next wedding you attend, my bird-of-paradise, 
you shall wear a splendid costume of shilling calico. 
How will you like that, my gentle dove ? If you do 
not lie down this moment upon the carpet, I will 
find means to make you ; do you hear?” 

He was becoming so violent, that our heroine 
thought best to comply, as she well knew that he 
had no scruples about carrying his threats into 
execution. So wearied was she, that she actually 
fell asleep, while Morgan’s ridiculous words and 
threats still sounded in her ears. It may be 
imagined that she felt no better next day for 
having couched upon the hard floor all night. 


150 


THE GOLDEN LADDER. 


It appeared, from the language of Marcellus, 
that he had overheard the eulogies pronounced 
upon his wife, and consequently the disparaging 
remarks concerning himself. His love was like 
vapor, and had long since passed away. The 
idea that others should consider her lovable was 
obnoxious. He was jealous — jealousy without love ; 
strange anomaly ! 

The day which was appointed for the party to be 
held at Mars Hill arrived, and Morgan was the first 
to propose to attend. Well he knew that after all 
she had passed through she did not feel like enter- 
ing into gay society, and hence he was determined 
that she should attend. He assumed his blandest 
manner as he, with “killing courtesy,” informed 
her that they were to appear at the dinner given 

at Mr. K ’s. They went, and never was seen in 

a country place a more splendid entertainment. 
Even while there, surrounded by attentive acquaint- 
ances and gay companions, Annah often found 
herself sinking into deep and bitter reveries. Her 
mind seemed to soar above the trifles of time ; alas ! 
too deeply had the iron entered into her soul. The 
fickleness, the brutality to w^hich she w^as subjected, 
was greater than she had conceived could exist in 
the heart of man. She, who had been the Jewel of 
Fabian Toy’s mansion, could date another era in 


THE OBEEN-BTED MONSTEB. 


151 


her existence from the time of the wedding-party 
at Mars Hill, for, from that period, Marcellus be- 
came trebly estranged. Once, when he called for 
her at the house of a neighbor she was visiting, 
he obliged her to return home with him, making 
her walk and run, by the side of his horse for hours, 
through briers and thorns, and over freshly-plowed 
ground. 

On a frosty New Year’s day he locked up his 
house, telling his domestics that they might all 
take a holiday. Mrs. Morgan was locked into a 
cold room, without fire, or fuel to kindle one, every- 
thing of the kind having been removed. There she 
remained benumbed with cold, expecting to be 
frozen to death ; but there was no redress as yet. 
Could mortal be hidden in a more wretched place? 
She often wished that the Yankees would pass that 
way. She feared them not half so much as she did 
Morgan. 

On one fine Sabbath morning in October, Mr. 
Morgan attended his wife to church. Salem was a 
Baptist church, in Lancaster county, and the Eev. 
Addison Hall, of Virginia, was the pastor ; on this 
particular Sabbath he had selected these words for 
his text : ‘‘ 0 thou afflicted^ tossed about and not com- 
forted, the Lord is thy husband^ As he uttered this 
sentence the tears gushed from the eyes of Mrs. 


152 


THE GOLDEN LADDER 


Morgan, — every word of the speaker sank into her 
inmost heart. She felt that she was tossed upon, 
beaten rocks and nearly shattered to pieces. The 
storm was ceaseless and long- continued, and, her 
breaking heart cried aloud for compassion. She 
listened to this pious man, while the tears flowed 
down her cheeks. She had confidence in his doc- 
trine; he taught the Gospel of St. James. He was 
not a Pilate Patter, who had neither faith nor real 
piety, being a sanctimonious humbug who made a 
parade of his goodness on the Sabbath, but who 
occupied himself during the week grinding down 
every poor soul at whom he could get a grip. 

The Eev. Mr. Hall was a good man, and his 
ministry was blessed with thousands of converts. 
But even this able and eloquent man failed to make 
an impression upon Morgan, whose heart seemed to 
be hard as adamant and callous as sin could make 
it. When the good man had concluded his remarks. 
Colonel Cameron offered up a prayer, and it ap- 
peared that even his words were especially intended 
to touch Annah. She returned home feeling that 
she had derived great special consolation and in- 
struction ; her faith was increased, hope revived in 
her drooping heart, prospects looked less dark ; she 
began to believe that she would not be left to dwell 
forever under Morgan’s baneful influence; that a 


THE GREEN-EYED M0N8TER. 


153 


power of some quickening kind would come and 
pluck her out of his hand. 

Oh ! ye daughters of this Eastern continent, ye 
fair virgins of America ! think for one moment, 
weigh well in the balance the troubles that this 
unfortunate woman has already passed through. 
And yet, only an infinitesimal part of the suffering 
she endured, the bitter anguish always at her heart, 
the ceaseless contumely with which she was treated, 
the brutal violence to which she was subjected 
during the years, the long weary years, which so 
slowly dragged away their length while she was 
Morgan’s wife, have we mentioned. Were all the 
fiendish acts of barbarity that this human Satyr 
perpetrated upon this gentle, fragile woman, whom 
he had sworn to love and honor, related, the heart 
of the reader would sicken with disgust, a thrill of 
horror would chill the warm blood in his veins, and 
he would pause to consider whether it was possible 
that such a demon could exist on this fair earth, or 
whether the character was a mere creation of the 
narrator’s brain. Poor unhappy Annah! Well 
might she exclaim, in the language of Job : “ Let 
the day perish wherein I was born, and the night in 
which it was said. There is a child conceived. Let 
that day be darkness; let not God regard it from 
above, neither let the light shine upon it. Let 


154 


THE GOLDEN LADDER. 


darkness and tlie skadow of death stain it ; let a 
cloud dwell upon it ; let the blackness of the day 
terrify it.” 

But by Him who guided the children of Israel 
with a cloud during the day and a pillar of fire 
by night was our heroine guided. Her frail bark 
was tossed to and fro on a surging sea, which 
threatened to overwhelm it ; but she trusted in God, 
the great ameliorator of all w^oes, and looked and 
prayed unto Him for “surcease of sorrow.” 

It was wonderful that Annah’s mental faculties 
did not become impaired, many have gone down to 
the grave, bereft of reason, without experiencing one 
tithe of the suffering that was the miserable wife’s 
portion ; but He who ordains all things did not so 
will it ; instead. He gave her strength to bear the 
cross that He had laid upon her ; and Hope, that 
beacon that always brightly burns for the world- 
worn and world-weary, aided her, for, far in the dim 
vista of the future, a glimmering ray of light 
struggled through the dense cloud-banks which ever 
shadowed her life, and gave promise of rest and 
peace in after years. 


CHAPTEE XV. 


A MODEL HUSBAND. 


(( 



^^HAT a wretchedly dull day is this!” 
M exclaimed Morgan, as he entered an 


apartment at Oak Lawn. 


“ Indeed 1” said Annah, who sat beside 
a cheerful fire, engaged with her embroidery. She 
had fallen into the habit of saying just as little as 
was politely possible in reply to Morgan’s remarks, 
finding that the best manner in which to preserve a 
semblance of peace. 

Mr. Morgan yawned, and stretched himself in his 
easy chair ; then he sauntered to the window with 
^ his hands in his pockets, and “ whistling as he went 
for want of thought.” Finding the prospect from the 
window uninteresting to his intellectual mind, he 
lolled for a while upon the sofa. Then he paced for 
some time up and down the room ; finally he ex- 
claimed, with a loud oath, and bringing his hand 
hard down upon a table that he happened to be 
near : 

“ By , I have hit it 1 just the right thing ! I 


156 


THE GOLDEN LADDEJR. 


will sell out here and go to Norfolk. I am weary of 
this place, and I have sisters residing there.” 

“ I am willing to go,” exclaimed Annah, involun- 
tarily. Her poor heart bounded at the prospect of 
a change, trusting that it would surely be one for 
the better. 

“ Willing to go !” echoed Morgan. “ Of course 
you are willing to go. You will have nothing to 
do but dress and flaunt the streets, like all other 
lazy vixens, and make the acquaintance of the blue- 
coats, who, like that arch rogue Ben. Butler, have a 
mania for misappropriation, and, when they get 
‘ spoons’ on a man’s wife, find but little difiiculty in 
carrying her off.” 

This stung Annah to the quick, and she could not 
help uttering the retort that sprang to her lips : . 

“Your sisters, Mr. Morgan, you say, reside in 
Norfolk. I do not suppose that I shall appear in 
the streets oftener than they do, and whatever any 
members of your family do is always correct. I 
presume the Northern troops are there, and perhaps 
we may be better protected by your family being 
there.” 

“ Do not be sarcastic. Madam ; it don’t suit you — 
you have mistaken the style ; and one thing I can 
tell, had I a wife who traveled the streets as does 
Caleb Savage’s wife, my sister Ellen, I should very 


A MODEL HUSBAND. 


157 


promptly put a stop to it. If I remove to Norfolk, I 
shall tell Nicholson to keep Eliza in the house, for 
all those women do is to make up fine clothes and 
flirt around Portsmouth and old Point Comfort, in 
order to admire the fine-looking Yankee officers,” 
he added sneeringly. 

“ Mr. Morgan, would it be wise to meddle in your 
sisters’ affairs ? It might give them a distaste for 
your society,” suggested Annah. 

“ Do you suppose I care for that ? I am my own 
master, and shall do as I please. Never have I 
been governed by a petticoat since I cut my mother’s 
apron-strings, and all the Nicholsons and wild 
savages of Algiers cannot conquer me,” and out he 
strode, with a countenance as amiable as that of a 
gorilla. 

As the daylight died away and twilight deepened, 
Annah’s mind strayed far away from Marcell us, out 
into the fields of imagination. The room was dimly 
illuminated by the weird light an old-fashioned wood- 
fire that burned upon the brass andirons shed around. 

All was silent. Annah had to mourn over her 
troubles in solitude and loneliness. She had no off- 
spring; once this had been to her a source of acute 
regret, now, on the contrary, she was fain to rejoice 
in her heart that no child of hers called Marcellus 
father. At last a domestic opened the door,' and 


158 


THE GOLDEN LADDER. 


inquired whether she wanted tea or coffee to be 
served for supper. 

‘‘ Coffee, bj all means,” replied Annah, who re- 
called an insane attack made upon her once by 
Morgan because she had forgotten to see some 
commands executed about his lordship’s coffee. 
The servant withdrew, but her presence had recalled 
Annah from dreams to stern reality. 

And now we are to leave this beautiful place,” 
thought Annah, “ when my garden is looking so ex- 
quisitely beautiful and my shrubs are coming on so 
finely. The grape-vines that I have taken so much 
pleasure in attending imder the new method, my 
favorite young orchard, just in its prime ! Well, 
such is life — change, change, perpetual change! I 
wonder if Marcellus was, or ever will be, contented. 
Ah!” a sudden light breaking in upon her mind, 
“ yes, it must be so ; I can guess the cause of his 
sudden caprice, his wish to go to Norfolk. He is 
aware that his conduct has become the subject of uni- 
versal remark, and hence his sudden desire to leave 
Lancaster. He pretends to fear his houses will be 
destroyed ; that’s all nonsense, he has some other 
project on hand. Poor man 1 victim of his own bad 
passions, he has none to pity him ; all unite in 
meting out to him just retribution for his multi- 
farious sins. 


A MODEL HUSBAND. 


159 


Annah truly pitied the man who had inflicted so 
many injuries upon her, and she knew not by what 
contrariety of impression she found herself repeat- 
ing these lines : 

“ Time’s somber touches soon correct the piece, 

Mellow each tint, and bid each discord cease ; 

A softer tone of light pervades the whole, 

And breathes a pensive languor in the soul.” 

Here supper was announced ; Mrs. Morgan has- 
. tened to obey the summons. Marcellus was already 
seated at the table, and, with his usual courtesy, 
had helped himself without waiting for his wife. 
Annah was seized with a desire to know how Mar- 
cellus was progressing with his studies, particularly 
geography. He had made, in his ignorance, some 
most ridiculous mistakes when there were strangers 
present. 

“ How about the savages of Algiers, Mr. Morgan, 
to whom you alluded this afternoon ?” she asked. 

“ Well, so I did. I heard a man yesterday read 
from a paper something about savages in Algiers, 
and, of course, he meant Caleb’s family. But I 
thought he was making a mistake, because all the 
savages I ever heard of lived in Northumberland 
and Accomac.” 

Did you really think, Mr. Morgan, that the man 
who was reading meant Savages by name ?” 


160 


THE GOLDEN LADDER. 


“ YeSj of course lie did ; what else could he mean ? 
I suppose there is some place named Algiers in 
Northumberland or Accomac.” 

“ Oh ! no, no, Mr. Morgan ! Algiers is n country 
in the northern extremity of Africa, and the natives 
of those barbarous states are called savages because 
they are not civilized.” 

“ Well, I swear, Annah, you are becoming a bigger 
fool every day you live. To tell me such a thing 
as that ! Do you suppose I believe such a lie ? To 
say that there are wild people in the world ! Well, 
I have sometimes thought that you were going 
crazy, sitting here talking of ’stremities, as though 
you could fill my eyes with sand. I do not care 
anything about your extremes or ’stremities ; I know 
that the man meant some of Caleb’s family, or 
Littleton’s. You know Littleton, who used some- 
times to accompany me when I was ‘a sparkin’’ 
you?” 

‘‘ Yes,” replied Mrs. Morgan, unable to repress a 
smile. 

“ What are you laughing at. Madam ? You make 
fun enough of me, and I’ll not have it. I will make 
you laugh on the other side of your ‘pretty lips ;’ as 
Dr. Bernett was so fond of calling them at the wed- 
ding of K .” 

“ I was not ‘ making fun,’ Mr. Morgan, because I 


A MODEL HUSBAND. 


161 


smiled. But what I tell you about the savages 
is true.” 

“ Mrs. Morgan, you have lolled in your easy-chair, 
and dawdled over your embroidery, and muddled 
your brain over old books, until you have lost your 
mind. You had some sense when I married you 
and took you to Poplar Hill ; but since you have 
come to Oak Lawn, you have turned fool. I’d burn 
up the whole library if I were intending to remain 
here ; but it will be just as well, and more profitable, 
to sell it off ; and trust me. Madam, when I reach 
Norfolk you will ‘ lead another sort of life,’ as your 
great friends, the poets, have it.” 

Our heroine refrained from reply. When the 
meal was over, Morgan, for a wonder, took a seat 
beside the fire. 

“When are you going to be in readiness to 
remove to Norfolk?” he inquired of his wife, just as 
though he had been in the habit of allowing her a 
choice in res angusta domi. 

“ Whenever you are'ready, I suppose, Mr. Mor- 
gan.” 

“ Well, two weeks from this day I shall sail for 
that city. Next Monday I shall sell, and I wish 
everything to look its best in order to bring a good 
price. I am tired of this place. The people are all 
too smart here, and you are as big a fool as any one 


162 


THE GOLDEN LADDER 


else.” With which parting benediction he left the 
room. 

Annah thought in her heart, that of all the con- 
summate blockheads she had ever met, she would 
award the palm to the man the law recognized as 
her husband. 

“ How I have been sacrificed !” thought the 
little Jewel” of Fabian Foy. “What was the use of 
my father going to the expense of educating me ? 
what has education done for me, but to render me 
miserable ? Had my mind remained as uncultivated 
as that of Mr. Morgan, then, perhaps, I should suit 
him better; then, perhaps, he would love me. If 
I speak to him in regard to his ignorance, and 
endeavor to teach him, he retorts that I am making 
fun of him. Heaven knows I never thought of such 
a thing. Oh ! how miserable am I !” 

The household was soon all in confusion, making 
preparations for the sale and subsequent removal 
to the city. Each day brought forward some new 
excitement. Annah was both glad and grieved 
to leave the place. She regretted bidding adieu 
to her church and to her kind neighbors, but 
rejoiced to have Marcellus removed from his de- 
graded associates. She hoped that when he got 
among his relatives, pride, if not principle, would 
induce him to avoid women and wine; but we 


A MODEL HTTSBAND. 


163 


shall see presently how Marcellas got along in the 
city. 

Mrs. Morgan often sought the meadow that she 
and Bettie had crossed on the memorable night 
when the latter fell into a brier-bush. Beneath a 
large oak, whose shade was refreshing to her weari- 
ness, Annah passed many meditative hours. She 
now sought it for the last time before her departure 
from Lancaster. Night was fast approaching, the 
moon had risen and shed her silvery light over the 
dew-spangled earth ; stars twinkled in the heavens, 
while the bird that is said to denote death uttered 
its mournful cry, ‘‘ Whip-poor-will ! Whip-poor- 
will!” resounded over het head. Even the croak- 
ing of the frogs seemed to convey an intimation of 
that sad word, “ farewell 1” Annah fixed her eyes 
upon the ‘‘ spangled firmament her thoughts 
soared above and beyond things terrestrial to that 
land where “ ways are ways of pleasantness, and all 
its paths are peace,” where birds warble their notes 
of praise to the great Creator, where the air is im- 
j)regriated with the perfumes of flowers, and ‘‘ where 
the wicked cease from troubling and the weary are 
at rest 1” 

A feeling of unwonted beatitude entered Annah’s 
heart. She felt that at some future day she would 
enter the glorious realm above, and that even in this 


164 


THE GOLDEN LADDER. 


world her oppression would be modified. When the 
heavy dew warned her to hasten homeward, she 
bore with her an increase of courage and forti- 
tude. 

In a few days the sale took place. There were a 
great many who expressed regret that Mrs. Morgan 
was about to leave the country. Why did they wish 
to break up and part with that beautiful plantation ? 
was often asked. No one could account for Mor- 
gan’s strange freak. 

A Mrs. Crittenden, the widow of Lawyer Critten- 
den, was a great favorite of our heroine’s. Annah 
had not a large circle of female acquaintances. 
Having had some experience of the treachery of 
women, she stood aloof from the masses ; but this 
lady was a good woman, and Annah and she were 
warm friends and regular visitors. 

As soon as Mary Crittenden heard that Mrs. Mor- 
gan was about to remove from the county, she put 
on her bonnet and started off on foot to discover if 
it were really true. When she approached the house 
and gazed upon it and all its beautiful surroundings, 
she said to herself : 

“ It is not possible that they who own this elegant 
place, and have here all that heart could wish, are 
going to give it up and remove to a bustling city.” 

But, alas ! it was too true. As Mrs. Crittenden 


A MODEL RTTSBAND. 


165 


entered the gate, Annah ran out, kissed her, and 
smiled as though she was happy. 

“ Oh,” said Mrs. Crittenden, “ I have heard that 
you are going to leave us, but I cannot believe it, 
Annah.” 

“ But such is the fact,” replied the planter’s wife. 
“We shall depart in a few days.” 

“ Why, if I may ask, do you leave this splendid 
house and property ?” 

“ Marcellus pretends that there will soon be a 
battle fought on Carter’s Creek, and his house will 
be burnt. Therefore it is his desire to dispose of 
it, and you know it is my duty to comply.” 

Tears ran down the cheeks of her friend. 

“ Oh, Mrs. Morgan, I have always loved you so 
much ! Indeed, so sincere and ardent has been my 
affection for you that I have even ventured to ex- 
postulate with Mr. Morgan regarding his unkindness 
and cruelty toward you. I heard the other day that 
he had — Oh, heavens ! I will not say it — it can- 
not be true !” 

“ Too true — too true,” said Annah, guessing what 
her friend had heard. 

“ Oh,” continued the excited woman, “ were a man 
to treat me in that manner I do believe that I should 
kill him ; and yet I hope that I am a Christian. 
But God never made a woman to be treated so 


166 


THE GOLDEN LADDER. 


cruelly as, to my certain knowledge, you hare 
been.” 

Mrs. Crittenden wept as she spoke. Annah was 
also in tears ; she could not help saying : 

‘‘ My dear friend, if what you have heard was 
the worst I could bear it, but — ” And here, almost 
overpowered by her emotion, she could say no 
more. Bitter, bitter memories were in her mind, 
and her poor heart was almost bursting. She knew 
that the good woman had heard nothing, compara- 
tively speaking ; but to reveal it would do no good, 
therefore she said but little. 

“ Now,” said Mrs. Crittenden, “ I am going to ask 
you a question, Annah Morgan, and I wish you to 
tell me the truth ; did Marcellus Morgan ever — 
Oh, I cannot speak it !” 

“ I comprehend you,” said Annah, “ and I can 
answer you and say yes, that it is true.” 

And Annah wept more bitterly when th e lady re- 
ferred to an inhuman act of her husband’s, which 
she had just cause to remember. 

“ Annah Morgan,” continued her friend, persist- 
ently, “ is that indeed so ? My God ! I have a child, 
yes, children, and the man who would dare to treat 
one of my daughters in such a manner I would bring 
at once to condign punishment. No woman de- 
serves or aught to submit to such treatment. I have 


A MODEL HUSBAND. 


167 


often, often noticed your sad countenance, and 
knew that you were wrestling with some secret 
trouble. Tell me, why did not Mr. Dunaway’s 
family visit you, as you expected ?” 

“ When we were at their Union meeting some 
weeks ago, Mr. Dunaway’s family promised to spend 
their time with us during our meeting. On Friday 
morning I arose very early, in order to attend to all 
of my duties before the hour for church. There are 
many things that Mr. Morgan compels me to do, 
although you see what a number of domestics we 
keep. While I was making my toilette, Marcellus 
came in — 

“ ‘ Where are you going ?’ he asked. 

“ ‘ To church, of course, Mr. Morgan.’ 

“ ‘ How are you going ?’ 

“ ‘ In the carriage,’ I replied. 

“‘Well,’ said my husband, ‘if you go to Salem 
to-day, you will have to foot it, neither my horses, or 
carriage, or servants shall go until to-morrow after- 
noon.’ 

“ ‘ Why do you say that, Mr. Morgan. Do you 
not know that the Dunaway family are coming here 
— that you yourself cordially invited them ?’ 

“‘I care not for the Dunaways or the Duno- 
whos, I am not going to church.’ 

“ I then said, ‘ Why, Marcellus, that will be too 


168 


THE GOLDEN LADDER 


mean a trick to be guilty of — to invite people to 
accompany you home from church, and then not 
make your appearance. We are not ill, we have no 
excuse to offer, and it will be most shockingly 
rude.’ 

“ ‘ I am not going.’ 

** ‘ Well, Mr. Morgan, if we do not go to-day, I do 
not wish to go at all; because not to make our 
appearance there before Saturday afternoon would 
look as though we were trying to avoid receiving 
company. Those persons were so kind to us at 
their meeting, that I feel disposed to return their 
hospitality.’ 

‘ There is no use in talking, I will not go ; and 
if you do so, you can walk, the distance is about 
four miles — a nice little promenade for you, my 
lady.’ 

“I saw that the case was hopeless. When Mr. 
Morgan left the room, I could not avoid weeping ; 
but tears were of no avail, so I dried my eyes and 
endeavored to busy myself, in order to distract my 
sad thoughts. In the afternoon Mr. Morgan ordered 
his horse to be put to the single carriage, dressed 
himself, and drove off. I could not conceal from 
myself that the friends whom we had invited to 
our house would consider us, and rightly too, the 
meanest of people. Marcellus returned home at 


A MODEL HUSBAND. 


169 


dusk, and — and — oh ! Mrs. Crittenden, I cannot 
tell you the rest, you have heard — ” 

“ Yes, I have heard ; I understand it all, Annah, 
and I tell you candidly, that no woman ought to 
submit to corporeal chastisement from her husband. 
I may never see you again, but if you were my own 
sister I would give you the advice I now offer. 
Leave your husband, and apply for a divorce. He 
is unworthy of the consideration of any woman. 
Money can never supply the place of principle.” 

“ Ah !” thought Annah, “ this is the Golden Ladder 
my aunt bade me ascend ! He swears that he will 
follow me to the end of the earth, and murder me 
if I leave him,” she added aloud, wringing her 
hands. “ I should be happier living on bread and 
water, if free from Morgan, than faring sumptuously 
in a palace and compelled to endure his presence.” 

The friends separated after an affectionate and 
tearful adieu ; the last and most fervent wish ex- 
pressed by Mrs. Crittenden being that Annah should 
make the effort to release herself from bondage to 
a husband whose animal propensities were so strong. 

8 


CHAPTER XYI. 
Morgan’s machinations. 



T the appointed time the sale took place. 
Annah could not restrain her tears, as one 
by one she beheld her favorite articles of 
vertu pass into the hands of strangers. 

“ This,” thought she, “ will sever the slender cord 
that binds Marcellus and I together. After all this 
property is sold, and Morgan obtains its value in 
cash, he will become even more licentious than ever ; 
then there will be no bounds to his depravity and 
tyranny.” 

It was necessarily very painful to Mrs. Morgan 
to see her Lares and Penates knocked down to 
strangers, and every cry of the auctioneer entered 
her heart. 

Well she knew that most of the costly furniture 
that was then being sold had been purchased with 
her money, yet she feared that she would never 
receive much benefit from the disposal of it, and, in 
her morbid state of mind, she thought — “ The day 
may come when I shall not have a place to lay my 
head. I feel that this day will prove an epoch in 


MORGAN'S MACHINATIONS. 


171 


my wretched life. Whether the change, which I 
instinctively feel is about to take place, will be for 
the betted or worse, I know not. If I have still to 
suffer, my life will not be of long duration, and for 
this I am thankful, as death, and the glory that it 
will bring with it, will be in every way preferable to 
a miserable existence in this world of care.” 

In two days the sale was over. Large sums of 
money were collected from purchasers ; some of 
whom, however, only paid in part, and gave bonds, 
payable in six months, for the remainder of the 
amounts they owed. 

When Mrs. Morgan was packing her trunks, sub- 
sequent to the auction, she opened her jewel-case 
for the purpose of ascertaining if all her ornaments 
were within it. She at once missed her diamond 
ring — the sparkling, brilliant gage d' amour that 
Adrian had placed upon her taper finger in years 
gone by, in happy days when she reveled in his 
love, and little anticipated the dreadful future that 
was in store for her. A further scrutiny revealed the 
fact that a treasured relic, a breast-pin containing a 
lock of her mother’s hair, the only memento of her 
sainted parent that she possessed, had also disap- 
peared ; and the poor creature, when she fully realized 
the loss she had sustained, sank upon a couch and 
sobbed aloud in the agony of her grief, while great 


172 


THE GOLDEN LADDER. 


pearly tears welled to her violet eyes, glittered 
awhile on their sweeping fringes, then fell, bright 
opals, on her heaving breast. 

“Gone! gone! Would I had passed away ere, 
Adrian, I forgot my love for thee, and linked my 
life to wretchedness and woe,” she gasped, in a 
paroxysm of despair. 

That evening Mrs. Morgan was taken seriously ill ; 
over-excitement and distress of mind had done its 
work, and thrown her into a fever. She was under the 
necessity of retiring to her room, leaving Marcellus 
sitting by the fire in company with an old lady who 
was in the habit of staying with them. 

Mrs. Morgan had been in bed about an hour, 
when she was startled by her husband, who burst 
into the room, exclaiming, angrily : 

“ Annah, what have you done with my bonds ?” 

“Your bonds ! Mr. Morgan ; I have not seen your 
bonds. I know nothing about them,” replied the 
exhausted and suffering woman, not even able to 
open her eyes. 

“ You do know ; you are uttering a falsehood,” 
said he, furiously. “ You have stolen and hidden 
them away, and if you do not speedily produce 
them I will kill you.” 

“ Good heavens ! Marcellus, I am so ill that I can 
scarcely hold up my head, and I repeat that I know 


MORGAN^S MAGHINATIOm. 


173 


nothing whatever about your bonds. Cannot that 
satisfy you ? Oh ! my head aches intolerably.” 

Her face was flushed with fever, and her eyes 
glared with incipient delirium ; but the heartless 
husband cared not for her suflerings. He still 
swore that she had hidden the bonds, and that he 
would institute a thorough search. Annah had seen 
the bonds in his possession, and had accidentally 
heard him mention the amount, that was the extent 
of her information in regard to them ; but Morgan 
continued to abuse her so furiously that she 
attempted to rise from her couch of pain in order 
to assist in the search for them ; however, she sank 
back with pain while making the eftbrt. 

The old lady, Mrs. Edmonds, who had told Morgan 
of the loss his wife had sustained, entered the room 
at the moment. She looked with astonishment at 
Mrs. Morgan. 

‘‘ What is the matter with you, Annah Morgan ? 
Are you crazy? Do you intend to gratify your 
husband by rising from a sick bed to search for 
bonds which he is very well aware you know nothing 
about? He only wishes to torment you, and in- 
duce you to keep quiet about the loss of your ring. 
Don’t mind him, but be still.” 

“ No,” said Annah ; ‘‘ I must endeavor to assist 
in the search, or he may do something terrible. 


174 


THE GOLDEN LADDER,^ 

There are no bounds to Mr. Morgan’s temper ; his 
wife, his domestics, his dependants, and even his 
horses and dogs live in continual dread of him.” 

Then Mrs. Morgan made another attempt to rise, 
and succeeded in getting out of bed. She wandered 
around the room, with one hand pressed upon her 
throbbing brow, looking in every place where she 
thought it likely a bundle of papers could have been 
hidden by accident or design. 

“You poor, silly woman,” exclaimed the visitor, 
“ why don’t you go to bed ?” 

“ No ! no !” said Mrs. Morgan, nervously, “ I 
must try to find these bonds, or else my husband 
will kill me. He has misplaced them himself, I 
know ; but he pretends to think that I have them.” 

“ Poor soul !” exclaimed Mrs. Edmonds, involun- 
tarily, “ you would be better dead than tied to such 
a fiend.” 

After Annah had searched unavailingly in every 
direction, she crept along toward the bed and was 
about to lie down, trusting to the mercy of God to 
protect her from her furious husband, when Morgan 
again entered. 

“ Here they are,” he said. “I put them into the 
money-bag, and had forgotten the circumstance.” 

“ Oh ! you villain !” said the old lady to herself, 

if the devil don’t get you, he will be cheated for 


^MOBGAJV^S MACSmATIOm I75 

once. Now, did I not tell you that he had not lost 
them at all ? He is only afraid that you will accuse 
him of stealing your ring,” she added, aloud. 

“ I am glad that he has found them,” said Annah. 
“Now, I trust he will permit me to rest awhile. 
My head and heart ache to bursting; my sorrows 
will soon be hidden in the tomb.” 

“ Oh, no !” protested Mrs. Edmonds. “ You will 
outlive Morgan, and, even if you do not, you will be 
clear of him at an early day, and then you will be 
able to accomplish some great good in the world. 
But, as long as you are with him, so long you will 
be kept down ; he is to you an incubus.” 

The indignant old lady then bade Mrs. Morgan 
good-night, and retired to her room. Annah closed 
her weary eyes, and eventuall}" succeeded in falling 
asleep ; but her slumbers were uneasy, and her 
dreams were troubled visions. Even in her sleep, 
Marcellus, with his tyrannical cruelties, haunted her. 
"When morning came she found herself but little 
refreshed. Appropriate to her condition are the 
following lines : 

“ Still where rosy pleasure leads, 

See a kindred grief pursue ; 

Behind the steps which misery treads 
Approaching comfort view. 

The hues of bliss more brightly glow, 

Chastened by sabler tints of woe, 

And blended, forms with artful strife 
The strength and harmony of life,” 


176 


THE GOLDEN LADDER. 


The next day was that appointed for their de- 
parture, and Annah roused herself to bid adieu to all 
around her. Several carriages, filled with friends, 
arrived to escort them to the vessel which was to con- 
vey them to their destination. Among the number of 
regretful friends was old Mrs. Edmonds. With a 
full heart she had come to see the last of Annah 
Morgan, whom she looked upon and loved as her 
own child. She had visited Annah constantly for 
seven long years, and, indeed, had passed a great 
portion of her time beneath Annah’s roof, for her 
own son, the betrothed of Miss Alice Carter, dwelt 

but a mile away. Mr. and Mrs. K , with their 

little son Roily were also at the boat. 

At parting the ladies wept and kissed, of course, 
in true Virginian style. As the vessel left her moor- 
ings the assembled company on shore sang that 
beautiful old melody, “ Good-by ! Good-by !” and 
white handkerchiefs waved as long as the friends 
remained in view of each other. The bea.utiful 
Powliattan hoisted her white sails, and made her 
way out of the river. The sun had just appeared 
from behind the eastern hills, the sky was clear, and 
a fair wind filled the snowy canvas of the gallant 
craft. 

Mrs. Morgan retired to her state-room and wept. 
She felt that each day in her existence was to ac- 


MOBGAN-8 MACHINATIONS. 


177 


complisli something new. Keality and romance 
abounded in her life. Weariness at length weighed 
down her eyelids, and she slept for several hours. 
When she awoke they were some distance out at 
sea. The wind had freshened, and half a gale was 
blowing, but Annah was not frightened. After 
nightfall the wind lulled, and the captain invited 
Mrs. Morgan to visit the deck. She went above. 
Oh, what a sight was there ! the ocean by moon- 
light ! Annah had watched the stars by the sea- 
side, but never had she beheld them from the deck 
of a vessel far out on the ocean. 

“ Ah,” thought the Yirginian Jewel, ‘‘ would I were 
only in that bright world above, where beauty is 
perfect and where holiness reigns supreme !” 

She gazed around with unbounded admiration. 
Every passing craft attracted her notice, especially 
the steamship Roanolce., which came rushing by like 
a storm. 

There is something sublime in the power of steam, 
and Annah’s mind paid a passing tribute to Watt. 

In due course of time they arrived at Norfolk. 
The white sails were furled, the anchor cast, and 
the din and bustle of the ancient city saluted their 
ears. Annah thought it was a pleasant place, but 
not so fascinating as her imagination had pictured 
it. 


8 ^ 


178 


THE GOLDEN LADDEB. 


. Morgan’s sister, Mrs. Savage, came down to the 
vessel and invited them to proceed to her residence, 
and they readily accepted the invitation. After 
having remained there some days, Annah said to 
Morgan : 

“ When do you intend looking for a house ? It 
is certainly time that we located somewhere.” 

It then transpired that Mr. and Mrs. Savage had 
offered Morgan a portion of their house ; but .An- 
nah would not consent to live with his relatives, so 
Morgan was under the necessity of renting one to 
himself. 

This residence was large and airy, and with any 
one else would have been pleasant. Annah exerted 
herself to make it comfortable, and put it in the 
neatest order. She had two servants at her com- 
mand, and she endeavored to make this, as far as 
feasible, a happy and attractive home. 


CHAPTER XVII. 


FOUND AT LAST. 

this ill-assorted couple had dwelt a 
few months in Norfolk, Marcellus resumed 
his old habit of frequently absenting him- 
self from home. 

“ What is on the tapis now ?” wondered Annah . 
She feared her troubles were about to recommence. 

One Sunday morning Annah, as usual, inquired 
of Morgan if he intended attending church. 

“ No,” he answered, rudely ; “ go alone, if you 
wish. I shall not accompany you.” 

Mrs. Morgan made a merit of necessity, and set 
out unaccompanied. She started quite early, think- 
ing she would take a stroll down toward the river. 

As she walked on she met a very pretty mulatto 
girl, nicely dressed, and, as our heroine glanced at 
her, she thought she had seen her face before. 
While trying to place the stranger in her mind, the 
girl stood still for a moment and gazed intently into 
her face. In another instant the yellow girl sprang 
forward, caught Mrs. Morgan in her arms, and ex- 
claimed : 


180 


THE OOLDEN LABDEB. 


“ Oh, heavens ! Miss Annah ! Miss Annah ! is 
this you ?” 

Mrs. Morgan, struggling to extricate herself from 
the strange girl, said : 

‘‘ My name is Annah ! who are you ?’ 

“ Don’t you know your ‘ Zura ?’ ” and, bursting 
into a flood of tears, the girl clung to her former 
mistress. 

Mrs. Morgan gazed into the face of the girl, as if 
to scan her features. 

“ Yes, Missouri, I now recognize you. I am glad 
to meet you, for I never expected to see 3’our face 
again.” 

“ Master Griffin told me you were in this city ; 
but he did not know where you lived, or I should 
have come to you on your arrival.” 

Annah also wept to meet the little slave, whom 
she had raised and so dearly loved. 

Zura was now quite a woman, and was the exact 
image of Morgan’s sister Ellen, who then lived in 
Norfolk. 

“ Where do you live. Miss Annah ?” inquired 
Missouri. 

“ Just here, around the corner, on Main Street,” 
replied Annah. 

“ Why, you are near by us,” said the slave. “ We 
live in Bermuda Street, and I am so glad I have 


FOUND AT LAST. 


181 


found you, Miss Annah. I was only going to the 
pump to get some water when I saw you, and, in an 
instant, I recognized you, although you do not look 
as well as you used to when I lived home on the 
old plantation.” 

“ Well, my health is not very good, Missouri, 
although I am better than I was when your master 
brought you to the city to see your mother. How 
was it you got lost then ?” 

“ Lost, Miss Annah ! I did not get lost.” 

“ Why, Mr. Morgan told me when he name back 
that you strayed away from the hotel just as he was 
about to take you to see your mother, and he sup- 
posed you were wandering around the streets ; but 
it was on the morning that he was to return home, 
and, as he supposed that you would be found, and 
that the gentleman who owned your mother would 
take care of you, he returned alone.” 

“No, no! Miss Annah, that is not so. Master 
Marcellus sold me to the highest bidder ; and when 
I was knocked off to Mr. Griffin, who is the master 
I’ve got now, and found I could not go home to you 
again, I thought I should die. Young master never 
carried me to see Aunt Adah, and I don’t know 
where she lives now.” 

“ Is it possible, Missouri, that you have not seen 
your mother ?” said Annah. 


182 


THE GOLDEN LADDER. 


“ It is a fact that I have not, Madam,” replied the 
girl, and she stood trembling all the while she 
spoke. 

“ Poor child,” said Mrs. Morgan, “ you shall see 
your mother. I know the man who bought her and 
where he lives.” 

As they turned to walk toward the house, a 
colored woman, one of Mrs. Morgan’s servants, 
came tripping quickly down the street, and on 
seeing her talking to a stranger, stopped for a 
moment, then called her and said : 

“ Miss Annah, are you going home now ?” 

“Well, no, Eebecca, I am not going home just 
this moment. Why do you ask me that question ?” 

“Because, Madam, there is a strange colored 
woman in the kitchen who says she w^ants to see 
you very much ; and as I saw you standing here, 
I told her I would run and tell you.’’’ 

So Annah directed her footsteps homeward. 

“I wonder who it can be,” said Mrs. Morgan. 
“ Perhaps, Missouri, it is your mother ; she may 
have just heard that we have removed to the city.” 

“ I hope so,” said the girl, still weeping. 

It is strange that some people cry for joy, yet 
it is often the case. 

“ Hush ! hush !” said Annah, “ don’t cry so, Mis- 
souri, you make me feel sad.” 




FOUND AT LAST. 


183 


“ Oil ! I cannot help it,” said the girl, “for I am 
so glad you have come to Norfolk to live. Oh ! I 
wish I could reside with you again. Miss An- 
nah.” 

“Are your master and mistress kind to you, 
Missouri?” 

“Yes, Ma’am — I have a good home — they treat 
me well. I am one of the chambermaids. I do 
not work hard, but they cannot feel to me like you. 
Miss Annah, because you raised me, and I always 
loved you so dearly.” 

By this time Mrs. Morgan and the girl had 
reached the home of the former. On entering the 
kitchen Annah beheld, sure enough, Missouri’s 
mother — her old slave Adah. 

“ Lod ! Lod ! Miss Annah I’** cried the negress, 
springing from her seat and catching her mistress 
around the waist, “ I’se so glad dat you is come to 
Norfolk. God knows, I nebber ’spected to see your 
face again. An here’s my own little Zura ! Zura ! 
Zura ! Zura ! is dis you, my own little chile ?” 
Then clasping her offspring in her arms, she 
pressed her to her breast. 

“ Oh ! oh !” said Missouri, “ this is Aunt Adah, my 
own dear mother !” They wept in unison. 

Adah sobbed, and said : 

“ My little lost Zura ! I went all de way down to 


184 


THE GOLDEN LADDER. 


de old plantation to see yer an’ then came back 
without speakin’ to yer.” 

“ What is that?” said Mrs. Morgan. “You went 
down to the old plantation ?” 

“Yes, Ma’am,” said Adah, still weeping — “I 
run’d away an’ went down to de warf. I heard 
Cap’en Flowers was here, an’ I went down an’ told 
him I want to see yer and dis here chile. So he 
tole me ter jump on de* vessel quick, fur she was jus’ 
a startin’, an’ I sprung on quicker dan lightnin.’ We 
was only two days g’wine down, an’ when I got dar, 
I went up home, an’ I went to de spring whar I node 
Zura wild go fur water, an’ I sot dar for long time 
dat day ; but Zura didn’t come, an’ I was so ’fraid ob 
young master, feared he would pass by an’ ketch 
me, dat I lef de spring an’ w^ent de cross meadow; 
dar I sot in de broiling sun almos’ two days ; an’ on 
de las’ day Zura come to de spring, an’ Lod, Miss 
Annah, my heart jump up in my mouth when I 
saw my little chile ; but, jus’ as she was g’wine to 
dip de water, she look up, an’ den she drop de pail 
and she run like de debbil was after her, an’ I didn’t 
know what ailed her. Dar I stood cryin’ under de 
tree, right opposite de spring, watchin’ fur hur. 
By’m-by, I look up. Miss Annah, an’ I see you cornin’ 
down to de spring, wid Zura; but even den my 
heart fail me, altho’ I want to see yer so bad ; but 


FOUND AT LAST. 


185 


I was ’fraid yer Tvud tell young master, so I run 
’way, an’ yer an’ Zura stan’ an’ look after me. 
Den I didn’t go no more; but I go down to de 
boat, and come back to Norfolk and nebber speak 
to my chile.” 

“ Whom else did you see when you were in 
Lancaster, Adah,” asked Annah. 

“ O !_ I see a great many ob de colored people in 
de ney’brood, but was ’fraid ob g’wine to yer 
quarters fur fear de niggers wud tell Mas’r Mar- 
cellus ; den he might rite down ter Norfolk an’ tell 
dis here marster, an’ he wud sell me agin or flog 
me.” 

“ You don’t get whipped now, Adah, do you ?” 

“ No ! no ! Ma’am ; when I come home I go right 
back to dis marster an’ tell him de truth, dat I’d bin 
down de Northern Neck ter see my chile, an’ he 
nebber struck me a lick, but tell me go on an’ mine 
my work.” Then pushing up the sleeve of her 
dress, she added : ‘‘We don’t furget dese here 
marks soon. Miss Annah ; you remember dis, don’t 
yer?” and she extended her arm toward Annah, 
showing her the scars of the wounds inflicted by 
Morgan before she left the old plantation. 

“ Has not your arm got well yet ?” asked Annah. 

“ Oh yes. Ma’am ! it’s well, but it’s weak from dat 
heatin’.” 


186 


THE GOLDEN LADDER 


“ You are much better off now, Adah, than you 
were with us ?” remarked Annah. 

“ Oh, yes. Ma’am ! I nebber wud lib wid him 
agin ; but I wud like be with yer. Missus.” 

“ Well, Adah,” said Mrs. Morgan, you and your 
child have met, and I hope that you will be happv 
in the future.” 

“ I feels ’fraid even now. Miss Annah, dat young 
marster ’ll come home ’fore I get ’way,” replied the 
slave. 

“ Don’t be afraid, Adah ; he would not trouble 
you now.” Then Annah, turning to leave, added : 
“You know where we live — come and see us when- 
ever you please.” But, stopping again, she con- 
tinued : “I suppose you are aware, Adah, that you 
are all going to be free ?” 

“De Yankees tell us so, but dey fights a long 
wile, and God knows I don’t like dem anyhow, if 
dey do set us free. I hab seen ’neugh of dem in 
dis here city already. Dey remind me of young 
Marster Cellus. He was nebber satisfied wid de 
nigger’s work, an’ all de wile licking us for nothin’, 
so de Yankees, when dey get us in dere power will 
be hard ’neugh, I know.” 

“ Ah !” said her young mistress, “ you will soon 
be free, and then the law will not allow any one to 
lash you.” 


FOUND AT LAST. 


187 


“ Sure ’neugh, Ma’am !” 

Mrs. Morgan then bade the slaves adieu, and 
hurried off to church, leaving Missouri and her 
mother to enjoy a tUe-d-tete after a separation of 
many years. 


CHAPTEE XVIII. 


SUNSHINE AND SHADOW. 

^UEING the summer Morgan determined 
to spend a few weeks at Old Point Comfort, 
at that time one of the most fashionable 



watering-places in Virginia, and, much to 
Annah’s surprise, expressed a wish that his \vife 
should accompany him thither. However, she was 
only too glad to accede to his proposition, for she 
thought that he would probably be kinder to her if 
away from the baneful influence of his relations, who 
had always cherished a secret dislike for his un- 
happy wife. 

The beauties of Point Comfort are not easily 
described, for the scenery is enchantingly lovely. 
Some of the houses are very elegant, the grounds 
and gardens laid out with exquisite taste, and the 
walks nicely graveled. The town itself is very 
romantically situated on the beautiful Chesapeake 
Bay, and cool breezes animate the residents therein. 
Annah loved to be surrounded by the beauties of 
nature, and Morgan, who, for a wonder, behaved 
courteously and kindly to her, often accompanied 
her on a noctural ramble. One glorious starlit 


SUNSHINE AND SHADOW, 


189 


night they promenaded the grounds and then seated 
themselves upon a grassy mound, and listened to the 
music of the moaning sea and the gentle whisper- 
ings of the wind as it soughed and rustled through 
the virent leafage above them. All was enchanting 1 
all was ravishingly beautiful ! and, for the first time 
in many long weary years, Annah felt contented. 
Her husband sat beside her, and his harsh nakire 
seemed softened by the mystic grandeur of the 
night. He smiled and asked his wife how she 
liked the scenery. She replied that she thought a 
more beautiful spot could not be found on earth, for 
even the heavens’ magnificence seemed eclipsed by 
the amalgamated splendors of the terrestrial planet. 

“ Well, my dear, I am glad you like it ; I feel 
pretty good myself; this dolce farniente business 
suits me occasionally, for I like to lie on my back 
and look at the stars. There’s that bright fellow up 
there twinkles so merrily that one can almost 
imagine he’s winking at the numerous comical 
scenes he’s viewing as he looks down upon this 
naughty world,” said Morgan, jocularly. 

‘‘ I love the^stars, Marcellus. I think their mystic 
influence has inspired many of our best poets, and 
sitting here to-night reminds me of a poem written 
about this very place, that I read the other day,’* 
remarked Annah. 


190 


THE OOLDEH LADDER 


“ You’ve a good memory, my dear ; can you re- 
peat it ? I feel in a semi-sentimental mood myself 
to-night,” said Morgan. 

Aunah, only too glad to humor her husband while 
he was in such an affable mood, then repeated the 
following verses : — 

It comforts me yet on Mount Comfort to ponder, 

. When moonshine is silv’ring its turreted walls, 

But ah ! of its sweet social dwellings I’m fonder. 

Where true hospitality reigns in its halls. 

There gorgeous-plumed parrots, with harmonized voices, 
Inspire risibility; mocking-birds, too, 

The nightingale’s echo — all nature rejoices. 

For Hope, crowned with roses, enchanteth the view ! 

Gay parties from Norfolk Mount Comfort have gladdened. 
Where all took their comfort, when sultriness ceased. 
While jubilants cheered human hearts that were saddened, 
Iced strawberry-creams, our delicate feast. 

The Olives of Peace then were flourishing there. 

Within that blest circle now Hope sits forlorn; 

Dread cannon may thunder, and flowerets fair. 

Ensanguined and crushed, of their beauty beshorn. 

“ Those are what they call vers de societe, I 
suppose. I can’t say that I exactly understand 
their drift, but they sound pretty. Let’s go home 
now, Annah, for the sea air has made me thirsty, 
and I do believe I’d like a drink,” said Morgan. 

Then they arose and proceeded to their residence, 
Annah thinking, as she walked beside her husband, 

‘‘ Oh ! if I could only reclaim him ! No man is 


SUmiUNE AND SHADOW. 


191 


I all bad, and Marcellus lias presented bis bright side 
to-night. Now that the gates of his heart are ajar, 

, if I could only slip in, my future life might yet be 
happy.” 

But Annah never afterward found Morgan in a 
compliant humor ; he never again walked with her 
by night, but devoted himself to pursuing his usual 
reckless course of dissipation, and when they re- 
turned to Norfolk, he was as coarse and brutal as 
ever. 

Soon after his return to the city, Marcellus con- 
cluded to give up housekeeping; so he took his 
wife to board at Caleb Savage’s. Annah did not 
like this arrangement, but, of course, she was 
obliged to submit to the coercion of her husband. 

They had not been long in their new quarters 
! when Marcellus was taken seriously ill, and his 
relatives much commiserated him ; but Annah had 
then b®en more than twelve years the wife of Mar- 
cellus Morgan, and she was not quite so verdant 
about sick people as the “ wild Savages” around 
! him. She knew that her husband’s sickness had 
, been brought about by dissipation, though his rela- 
tions asserted that he was a victim to dyspepsia. 

; During the illness of Marcellus, which was of 
i several months’ duration, the Eev. Eobert Foy 
I arrived in Norfolk for the purpose of consulting 


192 


THE GOLDEN LADDER. 


physicians in regard to his health. He remained 
some months with his sister, Mrs. Morgan, who 
thus had the care of two invalids. But Marcellus 
became so peevish and so spiteful that he often 
ordered Annah to leave his room, and she could not 
repine at the dismissal, for her health was becoming 
impaired by such constant attendance upon a sick, 
unthankful, ireful man. Her dear brother was in 
her house, and after Morgan (“Poor fellow!” as his 
sister apostrophized him”) had ordered Annah out of 
his room, she concluded it her duty to remain alto- 
gether with her brother. For weeks he remained 
very ill — at the very verge of death. Annah sat up 
day and night, and watched over and ministered 
unto him. 

Ah! men may deride woman, as is their wont, 
accusing her of shallowness and frivolity; but 
when illness and trouble comes, then they are 
willing to acknowledge her usefulness and su- 
premacy. Sir Walter Scott knew this when he 
wrote : — 

Oh, woman, who in our hours of ease 
Art changeful, coy, and hard to please, 

Or variable as the shade 

By the light, quivering aspen-made — 

When pain or anguish wring the brow 
A ministering angel thou.” 

The members of the church visited him regularly. 


SVWSHIWE SHADOW. 193 

and many were the prayers offered" up in behalf of 
the sick man. 

Morgan lay ill in the same house, and no one 
ever came near him, save and except, of course, his 
brothers and sisters. 

Robert Foy had but one relative in Norfolk, 
namely, Annah. He was a man of unimpeachable 
character, an exemplary Christian, and an able 
expounder of the gospel. 

When Robert was a boy and once lay ill, his 
mother, just prior to her departure for the Spirit- 
land, prayed that her son might be spared, that 
God would ordain him one of his apostles, to the 
end that he might be instrumental in saving sin- 
ners from the dark spheres of misery. God heard 
and answered the prayer of that good mother. The 
child lived to be an excellent man and a good 
and influential minister ; but now his career draws 
to a close. 

Had he been such a man as the Rev. Pilate 
Patter, the churches of Norfolk would not have 
offered up prayers to God to spare his life. 

Of all the most detestable hypocrites, a false- 
hearted minister of the gospel is the one to be 
j shunned. He gets up in a pulpit, and pretends to 

I teach people the way to heaven while himself is 

on the road to the dark spheres, 

9 


194 


THE GOLDEN LADDER. 


Who could tolerate such a man? Yet, such an 
intolerable being was the Rev. Pilate Patter. Many 
were the secret tears shed by his unhappy wife ; 
none but her God was the witness of her grief. 

A Mr. Foster, the pastor of one of the Baptist 
churches, offered a prayer so affecting that it 
caused all of his hearers to sob aloud. He 
prayed that Brother Foy might be raised up from 
his bed of sickness, and that God would bless his 
labors abundantly ; but if it were His will to call 
him away, that he might be transferred into the 
bright realms of glory, and there dwell forever 
with the pure in heart. He also prayed that his 
sister, Mrs. Annah Morgan, might be rewarded for 
her unceasing care and attention toward her dear 
brother, and that in the future world they might 
meet on the bright plains of immortality, should 
God see fit to separate them here below. 

Such were the prayers that for many months were 
offered to God for the recovery of this good man, 
who became improved in health, and was enabled 
to return to his family. Then Annah was left with- 
out a single friend. While her brother was with 
her, he gave her advice, and begged her to trust in 
the power of the Supreme Being. He was fully 
aware that Marcellus was a perfect fiend, but he 
saw no means of liberating his sister. 


CHAPTEK XIX. 


COMING EVENTS. 



FEW weeks subsequent to the depart- 
ure of Eobert for his home, Marcellus 
began to recover his health. He con- 
cluded he wanted some new excitement, so 
when the laundress brought home their clothing, he 
refused to pay for Annah’s portion of the weekly 
washing. The woman applied to Mrs. Morgan for 
the money ; Annah frankly told her that she had 
none, and the poor hard-working laundress was 
obliged to leave without her due. At last, Mor- 
gan, pretending he could not afford such heavy 
expenses, gave up housekeeping, and took board 
with his sister for himself and wife. Poor Annah 
felt that this plan was concocted for some subtle 
purpose, and so it proved. The laundress applied 
for pay for having washed a dozen of Mrs. Morgan’s 
clothes. He refused to disburse a cent, and used 
some horrible language. Annah heard these words 
as they fell from his lips, and the spirit of her 
father was roused within her ; she went to Mor- 
gan’s chamber-door. 


196 


THE GOLDEN LADDER 


“ I tliink it is a hard case, Mr. Morgan, that you 
refuse to pay for washing. You know that it is 
impossible for me to do so myself. Think of the 
number of physicians whom you have employed. 
You laid ill for months, and now heavy bills are 
constantly coming in. Why, Sir, has all this ex- 
pense been incurred ? For your base conduct, 
which has caused me a life of misery ! Where is 
the ring that you stole from my jewel-case ? stole, 
probably, dastard that you are, because you thought 
that when you deserted me, as I feel sure you in- 
tend doing, it might afford me the means of sub- 
sistence for a brief period,” cried Ann ah, whose 
long pent-up wrath now burst from its prison in her 
breast, and broke upon the head of the scoundrel 
who had caused it to germinate. 

“ You lie !” shrieked Morgan, livid with rage, “ I 
never saw your ring since the luckless day that I 
wedded you. If you call me a thief. I’ll kill you 
where you stand.” 

‘‘ I would care but little if you did, for death would 
be better than life linked to you ; but, though you 
are brave enough to strike a woman, you are far too 
great a coward to si ay' her, for you dread the fate 
that is surely in store, for you. Yes, you, fine 
fellow, as you deemed yourself, will undoubtedly 
be hanged, and God will not have mercy on your 


COMING events:^ 197 

soul,” retorted Annah, her eyes flashing, and her 
cheeks aglow with righteous indignation. 

The Savages, hearing the disturbance, at this period 
arrived upon the scene, and joining issue with Mor- 
gan, ordered her to leave the house immediately. 

“ Give me money to pay my expenses, and I will 
depart at once !” cried Annah, while 

“ Disdain and scorn rode sparkling in her eyes.” 

No ! vve will not give you a cent, and you shall 
quit this house, for you have insulted my brother !” 
screamed Ellen, who had about as much brains as 
a plaster of Paris image. 

The strife raged high. Annah Morgan had come 
to the conclusion that good-nature had ceased to be 
a virtue, and now, for the first time in twelve years, 
she freely spoke her mind. The consequences were 
to her not wholly unexpected, although the manner 
in which they arrived were quite unlooked for. 

The next day, the domestic storm having lulled 
into what Mrs. Morgan supposed a calm, she went 
out during the afternoon, and did not return until 
nearly dark. When she arrived at home she found 
the front door locked ; a trial at the basement door 
proved that toi)e in the same condition. She went 
around to the alley gate ; that also was fastened. 
She returned to the front door and repeatedly rang 
the bell. No one answered it. There she remained 
13 * 


198 


THE GOLDEN LADDER. 


for an hour. The weather was cold, the season 
November, and it had now become quite dark. 

“ What shall I do ?” thought Annah. Then it 
flashed across her mind that tlie Savages had com- 
bined to assist Morgan to destroy her. They had 
cheated many poor souls out of their bread, and, 
besides, Morgan was assisting them with her money. 
Again and again she rang. No one came. She 
then walked off a few blocks. The wind made her 
shiver. 

“ Oh, what am I to do !” thought the forsaken 
woman. She returned to the house — the door was 
still locked. She could see through a window into 
the dining-room. Therein sat Marcellus in an easy 
chair, his feet in another. He was laughing in 
great glee. A fine coal-fire burning brightly in the 
grate made the room comfortable, and a hot supper 
had just been placed upon the table. She distinctly 
overheard her sister-in-law say, “ Come, brother 
Marcellus, and Caleb, come to supper. I wonder 
where Lady Morgan is to-night ! I reckon she will 
have a cold berth of it on the street.” 

“ Yes,” replied Morgan, with a horrid oath, “ I ' 
care not the d — 1 where she is ; she can go now 
where she pleases.” 

“ Oh !” thought Annah, ‘‘ can that be the same 
man who said : * Welcome home, my Jewel !’ on 


COMING events: 


199 


that never-to-be-forgotten bridal day ? Great God ! 
of what is man made ?” She was hungry and cold, 
and locked out. Oh ! what am I to do ? I am a 
stranger in the city, and without a cent of money.” 

In the bitterness of her grief, she uttered a wail 
of despair. Ellen came to the window, and, per- 
ceiving Annah in the porch, laughed aloud, ex- 
claiming : 

“I guess she will have to stand there all night. 
She is on the stoop.” 

“ Do not open the door,” cried Marcellus, “ let 
her freeze.” ' 

Think, gentle reader, upon this moment in 
Annah’s life. Here was the idolized Jewel of 
Locust Grove, here was the daughter of Fabian 
Foy, turned on the street by her husband and his 
savage sister. This was one of the upper rungs of 
the Golden Ladder which Annah’s aunt bade her 
ascend. This is no fiction, it is a positive fact. 
There she stood, weeping, trembling with cold and 
faint from hunger. “Foxes have holes, the birds 
of the air have nests,” but, like her Divine Master, 
she had “ not where to lay her head.” Since she 
had been the wife of Marcellus Morgan, her life’s 
path had been one of prickly thorns, and of late it 
had been a hornet’s nest. Morgan’s family were 
worse than venomous insects, and poor Annah 


200 


THE GOLDEN LADDER. 


Buffered severely from their stings. For an 
hour or more she stood upon those cold, inhos- 
pitable steps, then, raising her mournful eyes 
toward the window of the room that had been 
occupied by her brother, she walked away, praying 
God that it might please him to spare the life of 
that dear brother, and that she herself might in 
some way be liberated from the tyrant Marcellus — 
that she might be entirely separated from every 
member of the Morgan family, who were all equally 
corrupt, as, also, were old Pilate Patter and his 
daughter, the Mrs. Jacovs who had opened a 
boarding-house in Baltimore. 

Oh ! that we could graphically picture the suffer* 
ings of the Virginia Jewel ! But our pen is inade- 
quate to the task. Think, ye mothers, who have 
children at your breasts ; think, ye fathers, whose 
offspring is endeared to you by every sacred tie ; 
think to what your children may come after death 
shall have taken you away ; think of this, and never 
turn a beggar from your door ! You may entertain 
an angel unawares, or the mendicant may be some 
unfortunate being like Annah Morgan \ And, 
above all, never advise a mercenary marriage, but 
remember the Golden Ladder, and the sufferings of 
the orphan girl who attempted to ascend it on the 
recommendation of her avaricious aunt. 


COMING events: 


201 


Pause and ponder on Annali’s predicament. A 
young and beautiful woman turned out in a vile and 
wicked city to pass the night on the streets, exposed 
to the lowest ruffians of the town. Yes ! exposed 
to such base men as was the one who had ordered 
the doors closed against his innocent wife ! Oh, 
that the anathemas of heaven may spare that family, 
for as “ conscience makes cowards of us all,” they 
no doubt suffer already for their wicked and ma- 
levolent treatment of a guileless and gentle fellow- 
creature. 

After finding that there was no hope of gaining 
entrance to the house that should have been her 
home, Annah went to the residence of a Mr. Not- 
tingham and requested permission. to remain during 
the night. Her cordial reception encouraged her to 
reveal to these kind friends the manner in which she 
had been treated by her husband and his family. 
As may be supposed, her listeners were perfectly 
astounded. Mrs. Morgan was kindly conducted to 
her room, but to sleep was impossible ; her mind 
wandered all over the world, particularly across the 
Atlantic. 

The reader would scarce think Annah a rational 
being had she slept tranquilly that night. She 
thought of Robert, who was far away, and still ill. 
She thought of Andrew, her little blue-eyed brother, 


202 


THE GO LB EH LABBER. 


whom she had not seen for many long years. 
Nothing seemed to drive the impression of Locust 
Grove from her mind, although her eyes had never 
viewed the plantation since that fatal morning when 
she entered the carriage that bore her to her aunt’s 
abode. These thoughts crowded upon her mind, 
and at any hour of the night she could have been 
found awake, weeping. 

On the following morning she felt better than 
many would have felt under the circumstances, be- 
cause her organ of Hope was large, very large. 
Softer refreshing ablutions she descended to the 
breakfast-room, and the delicious meal to which she 
was invited was very acceptable, for she was exceed- 
ingly hungry. With many thanks for the kindness 
she had received, she paid her adiefls and proceeded 
to the house where she had lived. By some acci- 
dent the door had been left open, so Annah entered 
and walked up to Morgan’s room, and, bravely con- 
fronting him, demanded to know why he- had per- 
mitted his sister to lock her out. 

‘‘ Because I wished her to do so,” said he, “ and 
if you do not leave instanter she will have you put 
out by the police.” 

Annah asked for money to enable her to go to 
her friends. 

“ No, Madam ; from me you will not obtain one 


COMING EVENTS? 


203 


cent. Get to your friends, whom I hope you may 
find, in the best manner you can,” replied her hus- 
band. 

While engaged packing up, just prior to the ex- 
odus from Oak Lawn, Annah had found by acci- 
dent, among some old papers of her husband’s, a 
letter from Adrian, addressed to her, written in his 
old, loving style, breathing devotion in every line, 
and assuring her that the affection he bore unto her 
was steadfast. This letter was dated on the same 
day, month, and year as that which had been the 
principal cause of inducing her to steel her heart 
against Adrian Castle and wed the satyr Morgan. 
The destroyed epistle had been written in a very 
different strain. It told Annah that the waiter, 
Adrian, had forgotten his affection for her, and was 
content to remain in India and revel with dusky 
native houris. 

Directly Annah discovered and perused the letter 
she found in Morgan’s secretaire, her perspicacity 
enabled her to divine that she had been the victim 
of a gigantic fraud. It was obvious to her acute 
understanding that Marcellus had by some means 
intercepted the love-breathing epistle that Adrian 
had sent her, and, in its place, had substituted a 
clever forgery for the purpose of inducing her to 
forget her allegiance to her absent lover, and, actu- 


204 


THE GOLDEN LADDER. 


ated by a spirit of revenge, seek consolation by be- 
coming the mistress of Poplar Hill. 

Now, in her just indignation, she produced 
Adrian’s letter and boldly presented it to her 
husband’s gaze. 

“ Marcellus Morgan, Satan himself must have had 
full possession of your heart when you so basely de- 
ceived me into wedding you. A liar, a coward, and a 
brute I knew you were long since ; but not until we 
were about to leave Oak Lawn did I discover that 
you were a forger, did not suspect that you were vile 
enough to wreck two innocent lives simply to please 
your passing fancy. That a terrible retribution for 
this crime awaits you, I am convinced. I spurn 
you, and leave it in the hands of others to mete out 
to you the just award of your misdeeds,” she cried, 
passionately. Then, gathering up her ample skirts, 
so that they should not be contaminated by contact 
■with her husband, upon whom she threw a withering 
glance of disdain and scorn, she swept proudly from 
the room, leaving Morgan pale and trembling and 
foaming with impotent rage. 

She packed her clothes, and quitted the house, 
trusting that Providence would send her means 
wherewith to reach her relatives. On the wharf, 
she met a friend of her brother’s who kindly loaned 
her sufficient funds to enable her to cross the Bay. 


comm events: 


205 


After a few days Aimali fouud herself at the house 
of her sister Bettie. She was, as she thought, forever 
separated from Morgan ; and yet there was a gloom 
upon her countenance. In a few months Aimah 
received the doleful news of the death of her 
brother. Oh ! what a terrible blow this was to her ! 
she was almost alone now, her two other brothers 
having been absent for many years. 

She suffered all the anguish that the true heart 
of a sister can feel at such an untimely bereavement. 
She remembered all of his kind advice when she had 
hung over his almost dying pillow ; she thought of 
his solicitude for his dear little children, who were 
now dependent upon a cold and heartless world — 
all, all dwelt in Annah’s mind, and her surcharged 
feelings found relief in verse. 

MONODY. 

Oil ! my brother, dearest brother, 

Thou hast left us here below 1 

Thou art in a realm of glory 
Where the souls of angels glow I 

Thou didst linger, long afflicted, 

On the awful verge of death; 

No complaining sigh was echoed 
By my brother’s dying breath ! 

Now thy form, once grand in beauty, 

Shrouded lies within the tomb. 

But thy spirit hath re-blossomed, 

Like the amaranth in bloom I 


206 


THE QOLBE]^ LADDEB. 


Oh ! how oft I’ve heard thee murmur: 

“ Children, sister, I must leave, 

My confidence is in Jehovah, 

He will Love’s own garland weave.” 

Thou wast often heard to utter 

Prayers for those who felt dismay — 

While thou languished thou wouldst whisper : 
“ Soon my soul must pass away I” 

Ne’er can I forget thee, brother : 

Profiting by thy advice. 

For thy words to me were ever 
Precious pearls of highest price I 

Thou wast glowing with devotion, 

Holy, holy everywhere ! 

When no longer at the altar. 

Sickness could not stop thy prayer. 

That green spot where thou art lying 
Ever, ever will be dear ; 

Tho’ in foreign lands I wander 
I’m beneath thy spirit’s sphere. 

Now farewell, my dearest brother, 

Tho’ on earth alone I roam. 

Kindred spirits will in heaven 
Find an everlasting home 1 


CHAPTER XX. 


THE STOEM BURSTS. 



brought its usual healing qualities on its 


NNAH deeply mourned her brother, but 

“ Time, the adorner of the mind, 

The bosom’s comforter,” 


wings. When several months had elapsed, lo and 
behold ! Morgan arrived from Norfolk, with re- 
covered health and a very penitent heart. He had 
come with the hope of inducing his wife to return 
with him ; but to this she was strongly opposed. 
The Rev. Pilate Patter had deeply wounded her 
feelings by asserting that she was indolent and did 
not care to soil her lily fingers by the necessary 
attention to household duties. Her sister Bettie 
had married the brother of the reverend gentleman, 
but Bettie’s husband was a good man, very differ- 
ent from the minister. After much persuasion, and 
upon Morgan solemnly promising to be kind to her, 
despite the recollection of what she had suffered 
at his hands, Annah went to live with him on a 
plantation known as Sea Breeze, and here for a 
while they lived happily. She remained with Mar- 


208 


THE GOLDEN LADDER. 


cellus a year or more ; but, like the hyena, he was 
untamable and soon resumed his old habits of 
tyranny. The patient sufferer, unwilling to annoy 
others with her domestic miseries, remained quies- 
cent. The year had nearly expired, when Mrs. 
Morgan became convinced of her unsafety with her 
husband, as she had discovered that Lucretia 
L , his old flame, was residing in the neighbor- 

hood, and that he was in the habit of visiting her. 
Annah determined to again quit her home, for she 
would not sink her dignity so far as to share her 
husband’s affection with another woman. She wrote 
to her brother Arthur, who resided in Philadelphia, 
asking him to come and take her aw’ay ; but Morgan 
intercepted the negro who was bearing her letter 
to the post-office, and, on ascertaining that Annah 
meditated leaving him, was madly incensed. He 
abused her terribly and vowed that he would poison 
her rather than allow her to depart. 

Mrs. Morgan, however, w^as steadfastly determined 
to adhere to her resolution of separating herself 
from the man wffio treated her so badly; therefore 
she dispatched a verbal message to her sister Bettie, 
who lived at Modest Town, asking her for assistance, 
and stating that Morgan had threatened to take her 
life. Bettie, too well convinced of her brother-in- 
law’s tyranny, resolved to extricate his victim. She 


THE STORM BURSTS. 


209 


acted cautiously, by sending her two children, Joseph 
and Molly, with Celia, her most faithful servant, to 
make observations. They resembled scouts sent into 
an enemy’s quarters by a skillful general. The chil- 
dren stealthily communicated with Annah through 
a window, placing her in possession of intelligence 
that too w'ell corroborated the apprehensions of the 
panic-stricken wife ; for Morgan’s slave, Christy, who 
was courting Celia, had seen his master covertly 
load a pistol, and then conceal the deadly weapon 
in his bosom. Aware of his mistress’s intention to 
emancipate herself, the trusty slave was ever vigilant 
in watching his master’s movements. Annah felt 
convinced of the absolute necessity of using prompt- 
itude. The weather was exceedingly hot. Morgan 
had been his rounds to vent his spleen upon several 
servants, who had presumed to exhibit symptoms 
of weariness after extra toil at noon. Being over- 
fatigued, Marcellus threw himself upon a lounge, 
and fell asleep. His wife seized upon the moment. 
In company with her friends, and in a short time, 
crouching as they progressed, the fugitives passed 
through the green corn and tall pea-vines. For 
hours they wandered about like soared fawns, every 
now and then alarmed by some sound ; a rustling 
in the corn, however slight, was sufficient to occasion 
dread. Then the moon rose, and still the wanderers. 


m 


THE GOLDEN LABDEB. 


stricken with terror, bewildered and faint, frequently 
retracing their steps, retrograding so that their 
efforts were sadly impeded — for they dared not ex- 
pose themselves above the leaves which shielded 
them from view. At length the whole party neared 
the village in safety ; they were in front of a fence, 
and hoped soon to reach a wood in the suburbs. 
All was serene; the soft radiance of lunar and 
astral lights silvered every drooping flower and leaf 
begemmed with dew. Crystal rivulets meandered 
through the illuminated landscape, scintillating with 
reflections of the starry host. All around was so 
calm, so sweetly silent, that once again a smile 
played around the pale features of Annah. Tran- 
quillity reigned in every bosom, and they forgot that 
there was such a thing as a Union soldier on the 
peninsula. Thus, often, at sea, a dead calm pre- 
cedes a raging tempest. 

Christy stopped suddenly ; not far distant he 
heard distinctly a plunging and struggling beneath 
the corn. Breathlessly they all listened, until they 
fancied that even the beatings of their own hearts 
might be heard. The noise was not repeated, and 
supposing it might have been caused by an eagle 
or a straggling fox, the scared little crowd, after a 
while, continued their onward career. Again, within 
ear-shot, the cause of alarm was repeated, and. 


THE STORM BURSTS 


211 


almost instantaneously, Morgan appeared, habited 
in his. sleeping-clothes, running at full speed toward 
them. lu the pale, liquid light that the silvery 
moon shed around, the trembling fugitives beheld 
him, recognized his face, which was contorted by 
the concentrated anger raging within him. Onward 
lie came, bounding through the corn, beating and 
bearing it down as a famished tiger in pursuit of 
ijrey breaks and parts the quivering canes of the 
tropic jungle. 

Almost paralyzed with fright, the pursued fled in 
various directions. Suddenly a vivid flash illumined 
the scene, and a loud, ringing report, that echoed 
far and near, plainly indicated that Morgan had 
discharged the contents of a firearm at the unhappy 
people, who were fleeing before him as flies the 
meek gazelle before the beast of prey. The chil- 
dren shrieked, and Christy involuntarily exclaimed : 

“O God! it is Massa Morgan 1 He has done 
shot Miss Annah. Oh, Miss Annah, you is dead I” 

The panic-stricken servants instinctively hurried 
to Bettie’s cottage, taking the children and leaving 
Annah at the mercy of her ruthless husband, who 
dragged her across the road and through the mud, 
her skin being frightfully lacerated on the angular 
pebbles. 

Almost insensible, Mrs. Morgan was re-incarce- 


212 


TEE GOLDEN LADDER. 


rated, wliile her inhuman tormentor stood as a sen- 
tinel over her, with horrid oaths pouring from his 
lips. 

Christy ran to Bettie’s dw^elling-house so soon as 
he recovered from his fright, and, bursting into an 
apartment where the wndow was seated, gave a 
confused account of his master’s attack upon 
Annah. 

“ Dere him stood. Missus, like a big bar, reddy 
to eat us all up. We run — poor darkey shot dead, 
me tink ! Oh, Molly ! dat angel nebber more open 
her eyes. Oh, Missey Annah ! she gone to Hebben. 
Kun after dem, Missey Bettie, an nebber stop till 
yer git dere,” he cried. 

Christy did not mean to suggest that Bettie 
should start for the world of spirits, but he was 
anxious that Morgan should be followed. His 
wishes, to a small extent, were soon gratified. 
Bettie boldly ventured forth, although it was nearly 
midnight, and she never stopped until she found 
herself in front of Morgan’s mansion. She then 
thundered at the door, filling the air with piteous 
lamentations, which had never ceased from the mo- 
ment of Christy’s heart-rending announcement. 

“ Oh, my child !” she cried, “ thou art wounded 
even unto death. The fright will kill dear little 
Mary, Oh, my beloved sister, thy fate is sealed ; 


THE STOBM BURSTS. 


213 


the assassin has paralyzed thy precious heart !” 
Then, addressing Morgan, she added : “ Come forth, 
thou ensanguined monster ! Where is the body oi 
my murdered sister ? Come down, thou cowardly 
miscreant, and brave, if thou darest, the vengeance 
of a desperate mother and sister.” 

Bettie hammered upon the door with frantic vio- 
lence, until Morgan, pale from bodily fear, looked 
out from an upper window and spoke in a subdued 
voice : 

“ My dear Madam, what, in heaven’s name, is the 
matter? We have retired to rest, as you perceive. 
Is the house on fire ?” 

“ Cold-hearted miscreant !” cried Bettie, where 
is the corpse of my sister ? You have planted a bul- 
let in her bosom, and you have frightened my 
darling daughter into convulsions, and her death, 
too, is imminent.” 

At that moment the colored help came rushing 
out to their mistress with the intelligence that Jo- 
seph had received no injury, and that little Molly 
■was all right — a regular pine-knot. 

Bettie, thus partially pacified, renewed the con- 
ference with Marcellus, who stood coolly at the 
window, with folded arms, viewing his nocturnal 
visitor with a frigid smile of contempt. 

“ Your frien is should keep you under restraint, 

14 


214 


THE GOLDEN LADDER 


Madam, for you are surely insane,” lie calmly re- 
marked. 

“ Yillain ! you would entomb me as you have 
done your unhappy wife ? Monster, where is her 
body, I ask ?” 

“ You had better inquire of the poor sold herself ; 
she knows more about her body than I do,” replied 
Morgan. 

“ Where are my sister’s remains ? She could not 
escape the snares of the fowler ; but now the snare 
is broken, and she is delivered. Where are your 
wife’s remains ?” 

“ Here we are I” cried Morgan, with a ghastly 
grin. “ Here we are ! If my better half is really 
shot, you see in me all that remains of her ; so, if you 
want my wife’s remains, I say again, here we are !” 

“ Oh, you mocking destroyer of domestic peace ! 
I will raise the whole community, and have you 
lynched before your own door. Give me a rational 
answer. Where is the lifeless body of my sister ? 
Deliver up that sacred relic, and I will even keep 
silent respecting the hideous crime, and leave you 
to that Omnipotent Judge to whom you will have to 
render an account of your misdeeds when you stand 
before Him at the judgment-day.” 

Bettie’s utterance became choked, and a shower 
of tears flowed spontaneously. 


THE 8T0EM BURSTS. 


215 


Morgan, who discerned in the distance figures ap- 
proaching, began to feel agitated ; he changed his 
tune, and addressed Bettie with more urbanity. 

“ Your sister is here, free from a wound ; she can 
answer for herself. My character is so well estab- 
lished that I defy calumny. My pious friend, the 
Kev. Pilate Patter, will vouch for the morality and 
kind-heartedness of Marcellus Morgan. Speak, Mrs. 
Morgan, and convince your sister of my veracity 1” 

“ Mrs. Morgan, who under the circumstances felt 
that discretion was the better part of valor, cried in 
a melancholy tone : 

“ Dear sister, I am still alive.” 

“ Then,” replied Bettie, “ at once throw off your 
natural timidity, and leave that Golgotha. No 
longer submit to the brutality of a petty tyrant, but 
set him at naught. I fear him not. Come down, 
Annah ; as Daniel came safely from the lion’s den, 
so shalt thou from thy dungeon-home. I will con- 
vey thee to a sanctuary where thy tormentor durst 
not show his face.” 

Marcellus was so daunted by this manifestation 
of Bettie’s intrepidity, and having recently tortured 
a servant, he became conscience-stricken. He feared 
judicial scrutiny, and, absorbed in thought, noticed 
not that Annah had responded to the solicitations 
of her sister. Mrs. Morgan, although cruelly punc- 


216 


THS QOLDBN LADDER 


tured by fragments of stone, and dreadfully bruised 
on the arms where Marcellus had grasped her so 
tightly, contrived to reach the outer door, which she 
managed to unlock ; in an instant more she had 
reached her sister and friends, and they hastened 
together to Bettie’s homestead. They were soon 

joined by Mrs. L -’s good neighbors, Mary and 

Robert Williams ; but, ere the persecuted wdfe was 
borne away in triumph, she gave vent to her long- 
restrained anguish. 

“ Oh ! my sister, have you come at last, like an 
angel of light, to remove me from an abode of dark- 
ness, where my spirit has been crushed by an 
incarnate fiend, and my best feelings trodden dowm 
— where scarce a day elapsed without my life being 
in jeopardy ! Oh ! I have suffered a thousand 
deaths. I fear that my poor senses will give way ; 
but no, Annah is not to be subdued. My frame is 
now fevered with pain, and my mind convulsed with 
visions of terror. Like the Indian martyr who 
triumphed over the stake, so will Annah to the last 
defy her tormentors by scorning to complain.” 

Then Mrs. Morgan recounted a portion of the 
poem on the heroic death of Secono. 

“ Pierce on, ye tormentors, I spurn ye in pain, 

Ye never, O never, shall hear me complain. 

Ye may tear, ye may torture ; no pity I crave, 

For ye never can conquer Orlando, the brave 1 


THE STORM BURSTS. 


217 


“ Ye may cut, ye may carve, ye can’t conquer my soul — 
The will of Orlando ye cannot control ! 

With fagots of fire ye may burn to the brain, 

But the son of Secono will never complain.” 

Annah had long submissively kissed the rod of 
affliction ; but, although she attempted not to 
contend with a foe who was her superior, so far as 
physical force was concerned, yet she fully felt the 
consciousness of her own supremacy in mental 
power. Morgan was destitute of sentiment ; his 
animal propensities predominated. Two beings 
more opposite to each other in every taste and 
feeling were never yoked together. But, oh ! the 
mercenary old Aunt Betsie was the cause of all of 
Annali’s sufferings. That Golden Ladder ever 
gleamed before our heroine until the very sound of 
wealth, power, and position became disgusting to 
her finer feelings, and she often wished herself in 
the spiritual world where dollars and pomp are no 
more thought of. 


10 


CHAPTEK XXI. 


BES ANGUSTA DOM I. 



fHE question will arise in tlie reader's 
mind respecting the character of the Vir- 
ginia planter, whether he had ever felt even 


a Platonic affection for our heroine. As 
far as such a being could love, Marcellus had loved 
Annah for a season. Novelty was charming to one 
so capricious. Soon after the honey-moon, how- 
ever, his former passion for Lucretia returned, and 
then the transient infatuation of the bridegroom for 
his bride passed away forever. Eventually his 
hatred toward her became most inveterate ; the 
purity of her spirit, contrasted with his, degraded 
him so deeply, even in his own estimation, that, 
instead of abhorring himself, he hated her. His 
malignity was augmented by the baneful influence 
of a heartless courtezan. Cruelty and cowardice 
always go together. Annah was naturally too pas- 
sive ; she inherited the extreme points of her 
Christianity from her mother ; if smitten upon the 
right cheek she would have presented the left for 
chastisement. There are limits to Christian for- 


RES ANGU8TA DOML 


219 


bearance. When we come in contact with those 
who cannot appreciate its principles, then we must 
draw the dividing line, and deal with them in a 
manner that they can understand. 

When married people cannot agree there is but 
one method left for them to adopt : let them — re- 
membering how great a matter a little fire kindleth — 
let them dissolve the union at once. Equally ap- 
plicable to the contentious couple are the nursery 
rhymes of Dr. Watts : — 

“ Hard names, at first, and threatening words, 

Which are but noisy breath, 

May grow to clubs and naked swords. 

To murder — and to death.” 

The sophistry of those very nice people, who would 
rather leave a victim to languish thah risk any 
family exposure, gives to such as Morgan an un- 
limited latitude for the perpetration of villainous 
acts. Mrs. Mary Patter possessed many noble 
qualities, and she avoided any interference between 
married people ; so the lamentable position in which 
Annah was placed remained unknown even to her 
brother Andrew. 

This sort of lukewarm indifference is too preva- 
lent. In political circles a similar squeamishness 
is displayed by those psuedo-patriots who decline 
going to the ballot-box because so many rowdies 


220 


THE GOLDEN LADDER. 


and policy-dealers usurp the posts of honest citi- 
zens, so that, -if there is really any integrity in these 
voluntary absentees, they render their virtues nega- 
tive, because they are too genteel to form a majority 
over rogues by coming into juxtaposition with them. 
Consequently rascality rides rough-shod over the 
passive community, and any number of ‘‘ white- 
washers” are to be found, who, for money, are 
always prepared to swear that black is white. 

Our heroine had reason to be contented with her 
paternity ; hers was, indeed, a goodly heritage. 
The memory of Secono was not more revered by 
Orlando than was that of Fabian Foy by Annah. 

As contrast gives effect to everything, Morgan’s 
father once lost a high position in consequence of 
having beell convicted as a receiver of stolen goods. 
Yet this was the noble family Annah’s aunt so much 
favored. Annah’s inheritance consisted of the car- 
dinal virtues, practical Christianity, and that neces- 
sary adjunct, wealth. Now she was, for the time 
being, safe from persecution, being under the roof 
of her sister Betsie. 

Soon after the breaking out of the war, Andrew 
Foy entered the Southern army, and was away 
from home until shortly after he gained his lieu- 
tenancy, when he obtained leave of absence, and at 
once repaired to the house of his mother. Mrs. 


EES AEGUSTA DOMI. 


221 


Mary Patter rejoiced exceedingly when her brave 
boy — now a tall, stalwart soldier, handsome as the 
Apollo Belvidere — caught her in his arms and 
kissed her palfid brow. It was a blissful reunion of 
two loving hearts, and the mother, from the very 
lowermost depths of her own pure one, fervently 
thanked the Great Spirit whose shielding arm had 
preserved her son from the dread shafts of Azrael. 

“ Mother, I have long been anxious to learn more 
concerning our family, for, though you told me 
much about it when I was a child, I feel there must 
necessarily be a considerable amount more to 
relate,” said Andrew, one morning, as he sat with 
his parent in a pretty flower-embossed arbor that 
fronted the sheeny velvet-smooth lawn. 

‘‘ Well, my son,J[ shall be very happy to do so, 
especially as now I can tell you many things which 
I should have found difficult to explain to you in 
your more juvenile days,” replied the gentle mother, 
anxious, as usual, to indulge her garrulity. “ Eob- 
ert, your eldest brother was a sickly child ; he was 
languishing when the first Mrs. Foy expired. When 
placed at a store, at fourteen years of age, his 
employer hinted at the policy of talking over cus- 
tomers, The youth could not deviate from what 
accorded with the strict rules of integrity ; he pre- 
ferred the loss of his situation. Under the auspices 


222 


THE GOLDEN LADDER. 


of Mr. Gillot, a Baptist minister of Philadelpliia, he 
entered college as a theological student. Ulti- 
mately, he became a distinguished divine, after 
having passed through Madison University, New 
York. His labors, for six years, were confined to 
Gloucester and York, in Virginia, where his popu- 
larity was fully established. The first church he 
superintended was poorly supported ; his zeal was 
superior to his physical powers, for Kobert preached 
not for gain, and he was obliged to open an academy. 
The result of preaching three times a week, and 
giving diurnal instructions to his scholars, was to 
weaken still more his delicate constitution. Be- 
coming enamored of a young lady, despite his 
contracted means, he married. Two interesting 
children were the result of this «inion, and proud, 
indeed, was the good pastor of his little ones ; but 
God saw fit to take him from this earth, and now 
his soul is in those ethereal realms that those who 
lead righteous lives below inherit when the spirit 
leaves the frail tenement of the body, and soars 
away beyond the azure skies. 

“ Your sister Bettie was delicate, like her brother. 
She went to live with her Aunt Betsie, after whom 
she was named. She was sent to school to receive 
an ordinary education, the aunt designing her for 
servile employment ; in fact, to wait upon the old- 


RES ANGV8TA DOMI. 


223 


maiden cousins, who were as caustic and sour- 
tempered as though they had lived always upon 
crab-apples. The two daughters of Aunt Bettie, 
Leah and Pauline, piqued themselves upon their 
historical knowledge. Pauline was named in honor 
of Napoleon’s sister, that amiable creature who 
offered to share her brother’s exile in Elba. 
Napoleon’s sister was an old maid of the true type. 
I was just thinking that if those starched-up old 
frumps, Leah and Pauline, had lived in the days of 
King Ahasuerus, he would never have presented his 
golden scepter to either of them. Bettie was 
fortunately transferred to a more desirable guardian, 
who consulted her happiness, dressed her elegantly, 
and introduced her into the best society ; as every 
young lady should be when budding into woman- 
hood. Bettie, in fact, soon married, but a sad 
fatality attended her directly after a child was born, 
Molly, of whom you shall hear more anon. Its 
father died. Bettie married again ; in course of 
time she became the mother of three more children 
— then their father shuffled off this mortal coil. 
At the expiration of several years Bettie ventured 
upon a third husband, who, a short time subse- 
quently, was numbered with the dead. Leah and 
Pauline, who deprecated matrimony, maliciously 
enjoyed the untoward fate of their relative, for to 


224 


THE GOLDEN LADDER. 


them the grapes were sour. Queen Elizabeth, in 
her old age, was a great enemy to her own sex, 
although in her younger days she fancied herself in 
love. Pope, the poet, was not only hump-backed, 
but, from an accident in infancy, was denied marital 
relations. He railed bitterly at Hymen !” 

“King Ahasuerus, Queen Elizabeth, and Pope!” 
exclaimed Andrew. “ Well, mother, you had better 
introduce Pope Joan next I” 

The reader may think strangely of Mrs. Foy’s 
talking to her son in this manner, and giving him a 
full description of all his family. The reason was, 
because he wished to know these particulars, for he 
had been absent for years, and knew but little of his 
domestic history. 

“ I will introduce whom I please,” said the mother, 
smiling. “I say again, in some cases it may be 
better to avoid the net of Hymen ; nevertheless, I 
do dislike all backbiting old maids.” 

Here Andrew placed a silver dish of raisins and 
burnt almonds upon the table ; after partaking of a 
little of the fruit, his mother recommenced in a new 
strain. 

“ Andrew, I was just thinking of that noble woman. 
Lady Harriet Ackland, who followed her husband 
to battle, as heroic as she was delicate and refined. 
Oh ! she possessed a courageous heart. But she 


RES AmUSTA DOML 


225 


was not equal to Jane of Flanders. Would that 
our Annah possessed Jane’s positive powers ! But, 
alas! the power of our Jewel is of a negative 
quality. Nevertheless, Andrew, one may display 
as much heroism in endurance or forhearance as 
in opposition. However, such questions I am con- 
tented to leave to philosophers. You must now 
listen to an old English ballad, which exhibits the 
magnanimous spirit of Jane in all its glory,” said 
Mrs. Patter. Then she spoke the following piece : 

JANE OF FLANDERS. 

“ When Edward the Third, of England, made war 
On France — the king’s nephew was Prince Charles de Blois, 
Who fain John de Mountfort would scorn ! 

Then fair Jane of Flanders beam’d forth like a star, 

From the mist of a hot summer’s morn ! 

She fought for the freedom of Brittany ! — Are 
Such heroines living who’d think that a scar 
Of glory their charms would adorn ? 

The people of Henebon well might be vain 
Of brave John de Mountfort’s immortalized Jane.’' 

“ There is much more of it, but that is sufficient 
to prove the spirit of Jane and the holiness of her 
cause. Now, with regard to the family to whom I 
at first referred, there was nothing of a martial 
character to recommend them I” 

“ Then, for heaven’s sake. Mother, why were Lady 
Harriet Ackland and Jane of Flanders introduced 
into the programme ?” cried Andrew. 

10 * 


226 


THE GOLDEN LADDER. 


“ To please my fancy, my son,” replied his mother, 
with a comical smile. “ ’Tis true that Bettie had 
no military man to deal with, consequently she had 
no battles to brave. Yet, for all that, on one occa- 
sion she acted like a field-marshal, when she 
assisted in extricating from a dungeon home 
‘ A Jewel of purest ray serene.’ 

Jewels, you know, are found in the bowels of the 
earth.” 

“ No one possessing bowels of compassion would 
place them there — at least such jewels as you refer 
to. Mother. Is this a land of liberty, where incar- 
nate fiends may with impunity incarcerate their fel- 
low-creatures ? Has a Spanish cloud been wafted 
hither, enshrouding the minions of a sanguinary 
inquisition, to torture the holy spirit of Freedom ? 
Have the fiery specters of Philip and Mary risen up 
against us ? Is Independence extinct ? 

‘ Awake ! arise ! or be forever fallen.’ 

Let me fly instantly to succor the afflicted. 
Knight-errantry must be restored ! Like a Perseus, 
I must slay the hideous monster who has bound our 
fair Andromache.” 

“ My dear Son,” said Mrs. Patter, quietly, ‘‘ re- 
strain your ardor for a season. There are few 
women like Mandane, the mother of Cyrus, who 


RES ANQU8TA DOML 


227 


* rear the tender thought, 

And teach the young idea how to shoot.’ 

The mother of Alfred the Great would have shunned 
our shores ; the maternal monitor of our magnani- 
mous patriarch would have exiled herself could she 
have witnessed the ignominy of modern society. 
External show is preferred to intrinsic worth ; 
European gewgaws purchased in preference to na- 
tive productions ; Parisian fashions and vices pre- 
vail ; old-fashioned rectitude and domestic love are 
ridiculed ; the boasted 

‘ Land of the free, and home of the brave,’ 
we can sing now, may be compared to the silver 
dolphin constructed by a half-witted courtier for the 
amusement of Queen Bess, when in her dotage ; the 
gorgeous model contained a band of musicians — 
empty sound, and merely outside show !” 

Mother !” cried the excited and amused An- 
drew, “ I am not one of those degenerate natives 
who can rest supinely and luxuriate on the fruits of 
independence inherited from hierarchs who shed 
their heart’s blood for future generations. Inform 
me of the real name of that persecuted wife, de- 
nominated the Jewel, that I may at once seek to 
avenge her cause.” 

“ My brave boy,” answered the mother, “ I glory 
in a dauntless spirit like that which inspired Put-» 


228 


THE GOLDEN LADDER 


nam to plunge down a precipice from among a 
host of armed Indians. Yea, Bettie was a Judith. 
I only wish that Morgan could share the fate of 
Holofernes.” 

“Morgan! who is this wretched cur Morgan? 
and who in God’s name is his victim ?” interrupted 
Andrew. 

“ Your own unsullied sister, Annah Foy I” 

Andrew almost gasped with horror. Until that 
moment he had supposed the lady of whom his 
mother often spoke to be some distant relative, as 
Mrs. Morgan’s destiny had been kept a secret from 
him. Her marriage took place during his absence. 
From youth he had been immersed in commercial 
pursuits abroad, and knew but little of his antece- 
dents. Now that he learned the truth, he imme- 
diately ordered the carriage, and started for the 
residence of Bettie, which was at a considerable 
distance from town. To amuse him on the way 
Mrs. Patter gave her son a treasured relic, long 
garnered up, and much admired by Annah, entitled 
The Music of Nature, Passing a brook beneath the 
mountain, they listened to the lowing of cattle, the 
tinkling of a wether - sheep’s bell, and pastoral 
pipes ; the murmuring of the tidal waves echoed in 
the valley and marine grottoes. A bugle-horn sent 
forth its melody. On grassy mounds flowers abun- 


BES ANGUSTA DOML 


229 


dantly bloomed and blossomed. In an old church- 
yard the birds were warbling their notes of praise, 
and bees were humming as the carriage entered an 
odoriferous grove, where tall stately trees interlaced 
their branches over the roadway. 

THE MUSIC OF NATURE. 

“ Each melody of nature is a spell I 

The gurgling brook beneath the mountain side 
The lowing herd, the wether-sheep’s soft bell, 

The shepherd’s pipe, the booming of the tide, 

Those echoes sweet in vale or sparry cave. 

The dulcet horn ’neath vocal arched alcove, 

A bird’s melodious anthem o’er a grave. 

The hum of bees wherever pilgrims rove. 

Fond nature’s minstrelsy is heard as in a grave.*' 


CHAPTEE XXII. 


THE SECRET DISCLOSED. 



^NDEEW, do you remember, many 
years ago, my telling you a story about 
a Mr. A , who—?” 


“Yes, Mother, of course I do!” inter- 


rupted the young man. “ He was the person who 
was so kind to everybody, especially to a poor 
fellow who could not obtain an employment, and 
who eventually died and was buried with peculiar 
ceremony. Ah ! mater mei, many a time, when I 
have been far away from you, when I have felt sad 
and lonely, longing to gaze into your dear eyes and 
hide my head in your breast as I did in childhood, 
I have thought of that story ; have wondered who 

that mysterious Mr. A was, and taxed my brain 

to the utmost in my endeavors to arrive at some 
definite conclusion as to why you so persistently 
preserved his incognito. You will tell me now, 
will you not ? I am a child no longer, and things 
which then you doubtless had good reason to 
conceal from me, should be revealed now,” he 
added, imploringly. 


TEE SECRET DISCLOSED. 


231 


“ Ah ! my child, it was not my fault that this has 
been kept from you ; it was the request of your 
father that I should not tell you until you 
were twenty-one years of age. It would not have 
done you any good to have known it before you 
arrived at man’s estate, and, now that you are old 
enough to understand it, I will tell you. There have 
been many changes in the family, both good and 
bad, and some things, perhaps, you should know, 
and others it is as well you should not hear.” 

“ Is it good. Mother ?” said Andrew, smiling and 
biting his lips to keep from laughing, seeing that his 
mother looked sad. He no doubt expected to hear 
something that might benefit him pecuniarily, as 
he had caught the contagion for money-making ; to 
be a successful merchant was the height of his 
aspirations. 

“ Why do you ask me that question ?” inquired 
Mrs. Patter, “whether the secret be good or bad. 
Were it bad, and your dear father had requested 
me to unfold it to you, I would do so most 
assuredly ; we are not to expect all the good things 
of this life, and none of the evil ones ; therefore, it 
is the duty of all to take life as it comes, and trust 
in the Providence of that All-seeing Eye which 
watches over his creatures. I have told you many 
things, Andrew, about your father, as you were only 


232 


THE GOLDEN LADDER. 


three years old when he died, and, of course, had 
no recollection of him, and the most important part 
of his life is as yet an enigma to you.” 

“ His kindness to that Mr. Gowin is certainly an 
enigma to me, and one I should like solved for my 
edification, as my knowledge of the world tells me 
very plainly that few impecunious strangers are 
received with open arms into the households of the 
rich and treated with the kindness and consideration 

Mr. A bestowed upon the mysterious stranger, 

who eventually died in his house. I guess most all 
poverty-stricken people get but a cold reception at 
the doors of wealthy folks, and, as a rule, they are 
glad to find a home in some alms-house, or a 
pauper’s grave in the bleak, barren waste of Potters- 
field,” said Andrew. 

“ No ! no ! my son, not if they wear the keystone, 
having on it the cabalistic letters H. T. W. S. S. T. 
K. S. in a circle.” 

“Well, Mother!” said Andrew, “in heaven’s 
name, what does that mean? Cabalistic letters 
H. T. W. S. S. T. K. S. in a circle? As people 
grow old their ideas become strangely erratic.” 

“ Well, my boy, you know that I have often told 
you that I always have a meaning for what I 
say.” 

She glanced at Andrew, and noticed that he looked 


THE 8E0RET DISCLOSED. 


233 


grave, and, seemingly, lie was trying to fatliom the 
meaning of the mysterious letters. 

Mrs. Patter sat for a few minutes watching his 
fine eyes and admiring his noble brow ; but she saw 
that he was puzzled, and could not comprehend her 
meaning. She gazed wistfully into his face, and, 
in a few moments, drew forth from her pocket 
a small case, and, on opening it, placed it in his 
hand. 

“ That Mr. A , my son, was an assumed name. 

The planter was no other than your own dear 
father, Fabian Foy !” 

Andrew started and cried : Why, Mother ! is 
that so ?” 

“ Yes, my son ; and here is the document that he 
requested me to place in your hands when you at- 
tained your twenty-first year. This paper unfolds 
all. Your father belonged to that most ancient and 
mystic fraternity, the ‘ Order of Freemasons.’ 
Bound together by an indissoluble tie, the members 
of this order, which holds place among all nations 
and in every corner of the known world, assist their 
brethren in every possible way that lies in their 
power. In the midst of deadly strife, in the van of 
battles, where foes of different nationalities and 
speaking diverse tongues have lost all sense of 
aught save the impulse to hack and hew and slay. 


234 


THE GOLDEN LADDER. 


a simple sign has stayed many a sword from drink- 
ing the life’s blood of a prostrate foe. In scenes 
less fierce than these, but still as sad ; in the sor- 
row-stricken household and by the hearth made 
blank and desolate by a parent’s death, the beauties 
of Freemasonry oft-times show themselves. The 
solemn link that binds brother to brother through 
life does not break utterly asunder when ‘ the silver 
cord is loosened the ‘ widow and the fatherless’ 
are not permitted to suffer privation or distress, but 
are consoled in their bereavement by the sympathy 
and aid of this noble fraternity. Andrew, it was 
your dying father’s wish that, when you arrived at 
a proper age, you should become a Mason. The 
order — though the ignorant may sneer at it — has 
nothing bad about it. How could it have, when its 
basis is true religion and brotherly love ? It incul- 
cates the holiest of principles, and instills into men’s 
hearts the purest code of morality that can reign 
therein ; therefore, I ask you, my son, to fulfill your 
father’s last request, and become a member of the 
fraternity.” 

“ A Freemason !” exclaimed Andrew. “ What am 
I to learn from this scrap of paper ?” 

“ That is a certificate, my son, from the Lodge, 
signed by the officers in Philadelphia.” 

She then presented to him the keystone. This 


THE SECRET DISCLOSED. 


235 


little jewel had inscribed on it, in a circle, the mys- 
terious letters which she had before mentioned. 

“ These precious relics were placed in my hand 
by your dear father a few days previous to his 
death, and he abjured me, by all that was sacred, 
to keep them, and when you were twenty-one years 
old to reveal the secret which I have just told you. 
Yes, my child, he belonged to this glorious order ; 
he was a Knight Templar, and a man of the high- 
est honors — one who carried out the teachings of 
St. James, ‘ Who did unto all men as he would 
they should do unto him.’ He was a good hus- 
band, a devoted father, and a kind master. I would 
to God there were more such men in this age !” 

“ Did he belong to the Church, Mother ?” said 
Andrew, holding the relics in his hand and gazing 
at them intently. 

“ No, my son, he did not belong to the Church in 
the light that you might look at it ; or rather, he 
was not a member. He went occasionally with his 
family, but he belonged to the great Church, the 
church that practices what it preaches. His labors 
consisted in daily and hourly seeking out the poor 
and relieving the sufferings of humanity, without 
seeking for himself name or distinction ; he was a 
true Mason, in every sense of the word, and when a 
man is a true Mason, he is a good Christian.” 


236 


THE GOLDEN LADDER. 


‘‘Well, Mother,” said Andrew, “this is a secret 
worth keeping, and, more so, worth revealing. I 
will keep this jewel and this document as long as I 
live.” 

“ This glorious fraternity, Andrew, never tries to 
make proselytes, yet I know from the earnestness 
your father displayed when he spoke upon the 
subject, that he wished you and his other sons to 
become Freemasons. There is much good done by 
this order ; a good Mason is no whitened sepulcher.” 

“ What do they do, Mother ?” asked Andrew, 
becoming more and more interested in his mother’s 
conversation, for she spoke with deep interest. 

“ Well, my boy, they do a thousand things ; as 
citizens they are loyal to their government, and 
obedient to its laws ; prompt in the duties they owe 
to society, and patterns of fidelity in all social and 
domestic relations. The anchor and ark are em- 
blematical of that divine ark that bears them over 
this tempestuous sea of troubles, and the anchor 
that shall safely moor them in a peaceful harbor, 
where no doubt your father already is. All good 
Masons visit the widow and orphan, and keep them- 
selves unspotted from the world. Now I have told 
you all in regard to your father, and I do hope 
that you will remember and treasure your father’s 
dying request.” 


THE SECRET DISCLOSED. 


237 


“I will do so, Mother; and I can say as King 
Agrippa said to Paul, ‘You have almost persuaded 
me to be a Christian,’ and a Freemason.” 

Then, folding the paper and placing it in the 
case with the keystone, the little jewel he put 
into his vest pocket. He remained thoughtful for 
awhile, as though pondering upon what his mother 
had been telling him ; after musing about five 
minutes he looked up perplexedly. 

“ I have often heard Masonry spoken of. Mother, 
and, almost invariably, have afterward wondered 
why members of the order should so jealously guard 
their secrets, especially from women. Indeed, I have 
often heard it averred that the order has moral 
depravity for its basis, and, like the monks of Med- 
enham, in Byron’s time, that is the reason they wish 
to conceal their mysteries from the public gaze,” 
he remarked, at length. 

“Andrew, no person or society that has for its 
aim a holy purpose is without deriders and detrac- 
tors ; women are connected with Masonry by ties 
far more intimate and tender than you are aware of, 
or than I can even inform you of. The widow and 
orphan daughter of a Master Mason takes the place 
of the husband and father in the affections and 
good deeds of the Lodge. If their character is 
unjustly assailed, the brethren are in duty bound to 


238 


THE GOLDEN LADDER 


defend them. If they are in want, distressed for 
the necessities of life, the brethren will divide their 
means with them. If, traveling at a distance from 
home, they find themselves sick and in want among 
strangers, they have but to make themselves known 
as the widow and orphan daughter of a worthy 
Master Mason, and lo, the hand of relief is stretched 
out toward them. The kind voice of sympathy is 
heard to cheer them. They are no longer strangers, 
but friends, dear friends, and thus they are con- 
strained to bless the society whose kind deeds are 
not confined to the narrow limits of home.” 

But, Mother, any woman who found herself in 
difficulties, or, indeed, any female impostor, could 
represent herself as the near relative of a member 
of the brotherhood, and so fraudulently receive as- 
sistance,” argued Andrew. 

You are right, and it was partly for the purpose 
of defeating schemes and protecting Masons that 
the order of the Eastern Star was established. 
Women, as you rightly observe, cannot be Free- 
masons, in the true sense of the term ; that is, they 
cannot be initiated into the secret mysteries of the 
society. » This offspring of the ancient parent has 
signs and passwords connected with it, by the ren- 
dering of which a Mason is readily enabled to 
d^tinguish a ‘ sister’ of the order. It has for its 

4 ‘ 


THE SECRET DISCLOSED. 


239 


basis the Holy Writings, and five female characters 
prominent in them are selected for the purpose of 
illustrating the Masonic virtues. The badge of the 
order is a star, each of the five points of which is 
dedicated to one of the chosen virtues. The first 
point and degree is entitled ‘ Jephthali’s daughter,’ 
and illustrates respect to the binding fores of a vow ; 
the second, Ruth, devotion to religious principles; the 
third, Esther, fidelity to kindred and friends ; the 
fourth, Martha, undeviating faith in the hour of 
trial ; and the fifth. Electa, patience and submission 
under wrongs. It is only those who are nearly allied 
by consanguinity to Master Masons of good repute 
that can belong to this holy order, and they are 
required to promise, upon their sacred honor as women, 
that they will never divulge the secrets of the sister- 
hood. It is an order that has religion and Christian 
charity as its primary basis, and, as such, it is 
naturally in every way estimable. Your sister, 
Annah Foy, has expressed her determination to 
enroll herself as a member of the ‘Eastern Star,’ 
and I sincerely hope she will carry out her pro- 
ject.” 

“ I hope she will. Mother, for, from what^ydu have 
told me, I am sure that the symbol of the order 
confers distinction upon the wearer,” replied An- 
drew, fervently. • 


240 


THE GOLDEN LADDER. 


Mrs. Patter then repeated to her son the following 
verses : 


ODE TO FREEMASONRY. 

Eternal Archangel above ! 

From Bethlehem’s star in the form of a dove 
Descending to those who are shod 
With sandals of holy salvation. O Love ! 

Inspire every soul 
With thy blissful control, 

And the sweet, tender mercies of God I 

Hail ! Prince of .Jerusalem, hail ! 

Beloved of Melchisedech — hallow the gale — 

The peace of God breathe from above. 

That souls upon earth may no longer bewail ! 

Our Temple shall stand. 

Never built on the sand, 

The sanctum sanctorum of Love I 

Disciples of Solomon ! blest — 

Whose feet our Redeemer baptized with the rest 
Of those who are chosen above. 

All people to cheer the oppressed ; 

All — saving the son 
Of perdition — have won 
The glory of God, who is Love ! 

Hail, Goddess ! fond sister of Hope ! 

And glorious Faith — ye have given full scope 
To Masons mankind to reform 
With Wisdom and Mercy ; that mortals may grope 
No longer in gloom. 

But to blossom and bloom 
Like Sharon’s sweet Rose in the storm ! 

Pure Charity ! Goddess adored 
By ev’ry accepted Freemason ! the sword 


THE SECRET DISCLOSED. 


241 


Was sheath’d by thy spirit. The dove 
Of Peace her green olives for healing were stored 
In that mystical ark, 

Once containing a spark 
Of the Spirit of God, which was Love ! 

Yea, peace and good-will upon earth ! 
Freemasons in freedom no longer dread dearth. 

Like Joseph, no Masons inquire 
Of brethren adopted the place of their birth: 

As sons who must call 
On the Father of all, 

Their spirits are flames of one fire 1 

The Sophist, so learned of yore, 

And Jesuit, boasting of classical lore, 

Of wisdom would cease to profess 
If secrets Masonic they had to explore : 

Minerva environs 
All Solomon’s scions — 

The wisdom of God to possess ! 

Hail, Triangle, Compass, and Square! 

Hail, true equalizer, the Level — prepare 
The proud for Death’s Lodge ’neath the sod I 
To prove all men equal as brethren, then share 
The grace that is given 
Which ne’er can be riven. 

While the Architect Love is our God ! 

11 


CHAPTEK XXIII. 


annah’s probation. 



due course of time they arrived at 
Modest Lawn. The meeting, the greeting, 


S and the “interminable talks” which super- 


vened can, as the reporters say, be better 
imagined than described. 

Andrew’s young, indignant heart burned to be 
revenged upon Morgan. Urgent were the pleadings 
of his mother before he could be prevailed upon to 
defer wreaking summary punishment upon the head 
of the cowardly scoundrel who had so maltreated 
his charming sister. 

The good Mrs. Patter piously declared that 
she felt a faith, daily increasing in strength, that 
Annah, at some future day, would be entirely lib- 
erated from Morgan. 

. “ Yes, when she is dead !” said Andrew, bluntly. 
“ I do not suppose that angels and fiends continue 
to consort in ‘ kingdom come,’ whatever they may 
be compelled to submit to in this world.” 

His mother was obliged to use all her powers of 
persuasion before she could quell the roused spirit 


AJSr]!^AH^S PMOBATIOJ}^. 


248 


of her son. Little did the brave boy dream of the 
extent to which his sister had suffered previous 
to taking her from Morgan. Andrew was also as 
ignorant of his mother’s trials with Pilate Patter, 
as, until recently, he had been in reference to the 
tribulations of the gentle Annah. 

At that time the reverend gentleman held the 
deed belonging to Andrew’s mother, of a beautiful 
house and lot which Mrs. Patter had purchased 
from him during his wife’s lifetime, and out of 
the money she obtained from Fabian Foy’s estate. 
This property she had bought expressly for Andrew, 
and had paid for it, and had also paid the fee to 
have the deed recorded ; but Mr. Patter appropriated 
the money to his own purposes. Time passed on, 
and as Mrs. Foy was a member of his church, she 
thought that it was all right, she forgot to ask him 
for the deed, thinking it was all right ; and in some 
months Mrs. Sally Patter died ; the minister then 
wooed and won the handsome widow, Mrs. Mary 
Foy, and after she became Mrs. Patter, on con- 
versing with her husband, she learned to her utter 
astonishment that he never had the deed recorded, 
therefore he owned the property still, which she 
had paid for, and felt sure that it belonged to 
her son Andrew. The consequence was that this 
deception practiced was always a thorn piercing 


244 


TEE GOLDEN LADDER. 


the heart of Mrs. Patter; she felt from that time 
that her husband was not what she supposed 
him to be ; therefore, when she knew that he had 
deceived her, as a natural consequence, her love 
was on the wane. He, however, promised that he 
would will it to Andrew Foy at his death ; so Mrs. 
Patter believing that he would do so, tried to rest 
quiet on the subject. Some, years afterward the 
reverend gentleman died, leaving a will, but had 
given the property to his own children. Now that 
he had changed his mortal a^d took on his spiritual 
body, and whether he occupies the higher or lower 
sphere we leave to the imagination of the reader, as 
we have portrayed his character. 

What is something very mysterious is that when 
people gain property dishonestly and leave their 
children rich, it generally takes wings and flies 
away. 

This seems to have been the case with the Patter 
family. Mrs. Jacov, the minister's daughter, kept a 
boarding-house in a large city; but although her 
father left her a small fortune, she soon failed and 
absconded, leaving her landlord, grocers, and butch- 
ers groaning over their heavy bills unpaid ; aud the 
last heard of the boarding-house madam Avas that 
she was living, couched with her four children, on a 
little pea-patched farm, with scarcely food enough to 


A]^]!^AJI^8 PROBATION 


245 


have fed Elijah’s ravens. It seems that her husband, 

Mr. W. J , had previously held a position as 

postmaster in a modest little town in Virginia ; but 
it appears that during his stay there were many 
letters went astray, and a very fine-looking black- 
ejed doctor, who was a special friend of the post- 
master’s wife, declared that he would not post 
another letter in the ofiice, especially with money 
enclosed in them, while he was postmaster. 

It is an undeniable fact, that money dishonestly 
gained rarely ever does people much good. Not 
only had Mr, and Mrs. Jacov become poor, but the 
minister’s fortune w'as squandered by his children 
faster than he had gathered it together. This is 
the waj^ the world goes, but the end is not yet. 

Mrs, Jacov, Mrs. Phips, and Mrs. Pitt, a little 
red-haired, insignificant woman, were warm friends, 
and whenever they met they never forgot to rehearse 
the misfortunes of Annah Morgan. Although our 
heroine had already endured everjdhing except 
death, yet these slanderous creatures continued to 
gossip. However, the tongue of such nonentities 
never injure a pure person. Such a character as 
the vrife of Marcellus Morgan could not be sup- 
pressed by those who were so far her inferiors. 

After Mrs. Morgan had been released from 
durance vile by her sister, her trials became aug- 


246 


THE GOLDEN LADDER. 


merited rather than mitigated. Bettie, on going to 
church one Sunday, saw Lucretia, the woman who 
had caused Annah so much pain, with the sparkling 
ring upon her finger which had been given to our 
heroine by Adrian. This information was imparted 
to Mrs. Morgan by her sister, and, when she heard 
the story of her husband’s thorough baseness, 
Annah gasped for breath ; she could only utter the 
plaintive wail : 

“ Oh, Marcellus Morgan, how could you take 
from me that precious treasure, and give it to your 
mistress ?” 

In course of time Andrew’s business necessitated 
his leaving Virginia for awhile, and immediately 
•afterward incessant annoyances were occasioned by 
the ghost-like visitations of Morgan during the 
night. He actually provided himself with a ladder, 
but it was not a golden one, as his wealthy days 
were over, and poverty would seemingly be his 
portion, for the purpose of gaining the roof, which 
feat he eventually effected. He then attempted to 
force the window of the chamber in which Mrs. 
Morgan slept, but this maneuver failed, however, 
for every door and casement had been doubly 
secured. Believing that the intentions of Morgan 
were bent on murder, Annah became paralyzed 
with fear ; fluttering like a timid dove, she crouched 


ANKAR^S PROBATION. 


247 


in a dark comer of the room. Her sister and the 
children were equally terrified at the slightest 
breath of wind, or rustling of leaves ; every instant 
they expected that an entrance would be made by 
the midnight marauder, who would not hesitate to 
destroy Annah, even within the precincts of her 
sister’s sanctuary — for he had sworn to recapture 
his wife, either dead or alive. 

Prostrated in body and mind from the effects of 
over excitement, she rushed forth, bewildered with 
vague apprehensions. Our heroine felt that she 
could not, by any possibility, escape from her 
tyrannical husband, and that her days were num- 
bered — self-destruction no longer appeared a crime, 
but instead resolved itself into a heroic virtue. In 
order to escape from torture the commission of 
suicide seemed no sin. The broken-hearted wife 
hurried onward toward her native home. She 
yearned in spirit to behold, for the last time, those 
familiar scenes that first enhanced her soul in child- 
hood ; to retrace the hallowed footsteps of parents, 
brothers, and sisters, and then “ go hence, to be no 
more seen in this vale of tears,” when, like a lamb 
destined for sacrifice, destruction was inevitable. 

In this state of mind Annah wandered from 
Bettie’s abode one dark evening, in the direction of 
a plantation formerly possessed by her father. 


248 


THE GOLDEN LADDER. 


Every dark object that loomed up before the 
panic-stricken fugitive assumed the shape of Mor- 
gan, armed with a whip of scorpions, like a demon 
of discord. Ever and anon these visionary terrors 
appalled her, causing her to falter ; her progress, 
therefore, was slow ; after walking three miles only, 
Annah felt a painful sensation of weariness. On 
reaching a little village located midway between 
Bettie’s house and Locust Grove, Annah entered a 
drug-store, with cool indifference, and purchased a 
vial of laudanum — the warning *^Po{son'^ was me- 
chanically pasted on by the druggist, but no 
questions were asked — a criminal apathy is too 
commonly exhibited by the retailers of deadly 
narcotics. 

The night was unusually serene. A mysterious 
beauty from the star-light above illumined the 
drooping, dew-spangled flowers, as a dense black 
cloud 

“ Threw her silver lining to the moon.” 

No zephyr stirred a single leaf, a portentuous 
silence universally reigned, even the clouds hung 
motionless ’twixt earth and sky, and perfect peace 
prevailed. The soft music of nature at length 
soothed the wanderer’s soul. ' The tinkling sounds 
from gurgling rivulets in ,the forest, the twittering 
of birds startled from their slumbers, and the 


ANNAEUS PROBATION. 


249 


wailing cry of the “ whip-poor-will,” were sadly 
ominous. Even the sheep-bell jarred on her ears, 
yet her mind was calm, free from the pangs of 
guilt, and she mentally offered up a prayer to the 
Creator that angels might waft her afflicted soul 
into that bright world where spirits dwell. 

Feebly the mourner pursued her way through 
devious woods and valleys, over sand and pebbles, 
until, from sheer exhaustion, she sank down upon 
the door-sill of a cottage inhabited by an old man 
'who had worked for Morgan several years before. 
Hearing Annah’s moans, the wife of the cottager 
called her husband to assist the poor lady who had 
so suddenly made her appearance among them. At 
first Mrs. Prescott took Annah to be a supernatural 
being, so ghostly and pallid was her appearance. 
The old couple had often communed together con- 
cerning the sufferings of that ‘‘ amiable and talented 
woman, Mrs. Morgan.” They attributed all Annah’s 
misery to Marcellus, and, old as they were, 
they still had sufficient acumen to perceive that 
the culminating point of her misery was near at 
hand. They had never fully learned how much 
the once beautiful girl had been tried, but the 
barbaric character of Morgan was too well known 
to leave any doubt on their minds as to the cause 
of Annah’s metamorphosis from a joyous girl to a 
11 * 


250 


THE OOLDEN LADDER. 


melancholy matron. Mrs. Morgan was accommo- 
dated with a bed, and refreshed with tea and some 
home-made bread. A sweet sleep alleviated her 
sufferings — until morning she continued in repose, 
although the imagery presented by Somnus was of 
the same extraordinary character as usual. 

Morgan had often threatened to send his wife to 
a private lunatic asylum. When sinking into slum- 
ber that recollection haunted Annah’s imagination, 
producing the fantastic dreams of the Retreat^ with 
all its mysterious dramatis personce. The main 
features of that visionary den of purgatory our hero- 
ine knew, from the experience of a friend, to be 
singularly correct. 

Although revived and exhilarated with coffee, 
Annah did not relinquish her determination to court 
the sweet sleep of death. Cleopatra was not more 
desirous to secrete an asp for 'her destruction than 
was the broken-hearted wife who concealed in her 
bosom a phial of poison, although with an air of 
cheerfulness she thanked her old friends when 
.bidding them farewell. Mr. Prescott exchanged a 
troubled glance with his wife, and respectfully in- 
quired whither Mrs. Morgan was wending her way. 

‘‘ Oh,” replied Annah, “ it matters little where a 
bruised reed is drifted. A spirit that watched me 
in infancy is guiding me to that green spot where 


AmAH^8 PROBATION. 


251 


my happiest days were passed. There will I visit 
the graves of my beloved parents, and pray that 
our souls will be henceforth reunited.” 

“You are ill able to bear fatigue, Madam,” re- 
plied the old man. “ It is, I reckon, three miles to 
Locust Grove from this spot. Ah ! to be sure, I 
remember you well — a little cherub, with light curly 
hair and blue eyes. And your dear good father 
too — ah ! folks lost their best friend when he died. 
I know nothing about the craft of Freemasons, but 
I knew your father, and always heard that he was one, 
and his charity will be remembered for ages to come.” 

“ That’s so!” cried Mrs. Prescott. Fabian Foy 
was the negro’s godfather, as one might say, and a 
brother to all mankind. Well, of course, your step- 
mother is one person, and I am another, but if my 
old man had died years ago, I could no more have 
married again, than you, Mrs. Morgan, would have 
gotten your neck into a halter, had you known but 
half as much as you do now.” 

“ Hush 1 hush 1” muttered Prescott, “ that’s no 
business of ours. We are poor folks, but I do verily 
believe the poorer folks are the more natural affec- 
tion they feel toward each other. I often think 
when I see gay foreign flowers transplanted from 
the green-house of fashion, blooming for mere show 
apart from each other in proud parterres, I often 


252 


THE GOLDEN LADDER. 


think they don’t look half so beautiful as the simple 
buttercups and daisies that flourish side by side, 
and perish together in fields and meadows. Yes, 
blessed are the poor, after all.” 

“ Blessed, indeed,” responded the old woman, 
instinctively placing her arm within that of Peter’s. 
“ Still I can’t help saying that Mrs. Foy made a 
bad choice of a name when she consented to 
become Mrs. Patter ; I do not care if he is a 
minister and I a member of his church ; his faults 
are not hidden from me ; no, indeed !” 

“ She thought, no doubt,” said Prescott, “ that a 
Baptist minister was a man worth having ; but — ” 
Here the old woman shook her sides with laughter ; 
the conversation was reduced to whispers. 

Absorbed in sorrowful thought, Annah had de- 
parted while the old couple were chattering and 
gazing at each other, as they conversed, as is the 
custom with those who “have lived and loved 
together for many a changing year.” The bird had 
flown, so the antique pair folded their arms and 
sank off into a comfortable doze on a sofa that stood 
within the entry. 

What more pitiable scene can be depicted than 
that of a young and beautiful woman driven to 
desperation by an inhuman, gross-minded man? 
All her best feelings trampled upon; rivalled by 


ANNAW8 PBOBATIOm 


253 


the most degraded beings ; her fair skin discolored 
with bruises from him who vowed at the altar to 
love and protect her. Alas ! there is a secret yet 
to be unfolded. Was there no deception, no in- 
trigue sought and made use of in the marriage 
between Morgan and Annah? This is yet to be 
seen. 

As she journeyed toward Locust Grove, Jehovah 
hallowed the inner temple of her bosom with light, 
for her heart glowed with the light of life, and 
gasped for eternity. The world, with all its rank 
weeds, seemed passing away beneath her. Her 
pure spirit already soared far above the sphere of 
such fulsome parasites of sin as Marcellus. The 
blissful reminiscences of first love charmed her soul, 
while her trembling lips murmured the name of Adri- 
an, as she drew near and trod the sacred dust near 
the graves of her parents. She felt willing then to 
leave the world ; her troubles were so acute that 
human nature could endure no more. 

Drummond Town, with all its allurements, never 
awakened such heartfelt joy in Annah as did the 
antique home of her childhood. There every blade 
of grass seemed to have been consecrated by pa- 
ternal love. The old-fashioned portals, half worm- 
eaten ; the stone steps of the stoop, crumbling to 
decay ; the green-stained shingles ; the dilapidated 


254 


TEE GOLDEN LADDER. 


fences ; all, all those moss-mantled relics of time 
were more precious in the eves of our heroine than 
‘‘much-refined gold, sweeter also than honey and 
the honeycomb.” Here, in meadows where she had 
gathered cowslips with her little brothers and 
sisters ; there, between two lofty cedars, a loving 
father had assisted her to swing to and fro under 
the glaucous foliage. One old rustic bench still 
retained our heroine’s maiden name, carved by 
Adrian, and beside it was cut that of the youth she 
had loved in the olden time, she herself the en- 
graver. That bench was an enchanted landmark 
of love. After the expiration of fifteen years, 
the forlorn wife gazed upon the humble resting- 
place with feelings of rapture, mingled with in- 
tense agony, as she mentally reviewed the past 
and present. Annah sank upon her knees, and 
kissed with devoted fondness every knotted plank. 
There was a mysterious melancholy in the coun- 
tenance of the devotee ; she looked like a holy 
martyr gazing up into heaven with resignation 
and triumphant exultation as from her bosom she 
plucked the fatal phial, and swiftly and silently 
moved on through the grove toward the grave of 
her father. 

Bewildered with grief, Mrs. Morgan became almost 
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ANKAE'S PROBATION. 


255 


in ordaining that an innocent being should be 
sacrificed to a fiend. But, like a spiritual echo, 
sounded in her ears the words : 

“ I iviU direct thy footsteps, saitJi the Lord."' 

“ Oh,” meditated Annah, ‘‘ what good can result 
from my destruction ? Will God direct the footsteps 
of a suicide ?” 

She burst into a flood of tears, and hastened to 
hide among the tombstones, lest an intruder should 
deter her from her purpose. As in a camera ob- 
scura, Mrs. Morgan beheld again and again that 
well-known building, the former residence of her 
father and mother, the home of her childhood, 
which she had never seen since that fatal day when 
she had been sent to her aunt. In imagination, all 
her kindred smiled upon her. The disc of memory 
became dim — another retrospective view was re- 
vealed. She beheld a funeral procession, and saw 
the remains of her deceased parents lowered into 
the cold, cold earth. She fancied she saw the cedars 
fall on the lid of her father’s coffin, and heard the 
Masons’ song. But, ah ! she began to think that 
the craft did not tolerate suicide. She trembled. 
She imagined that she heard the clods of clay fall 
upon the coffins, producing mysterious hollow 
sounds, so grating to human hearts, with that hid- 
eous creaking. of the cords used for balancing the 


256 the GOLDEJSr LADDER. 

coffin. She saw the black tassels thrown across the 
lid. 

The old pear-tree still reared its blackened 
branches over the tombs — a faithful sentinel, which 
seemed to mark the degrees between Time and 
Eternity. It was a strange reflection to make, that 
immortal beings should crumble into dust while an 
old pear-tree was destined to flourish from age to 
age ; that a human jewel should be crushed to 
atoms, while senseless stones were, through many 
generations, preserved with the greatest care. An- 
nah sobbed aloud, and the sound of her own voice 
roused her to a state of consciousness. A sudden 
gust of wind smote the locust-trees that grew in a 
row in front of the ocean. 

“ Emblems of affection beyond the grave, I 
come !” whispered Annah to the voice of the wind 
among the trees. “ The breeze that hath given 
niotion to your leaves, is the breath of those who 
loved me on earth, and will love me forever. Oh, 
father, mother, sainted parents, descend to me now !” 

Closing her eyes, the weeping wife reclined upon 
a grassy, turf-covered mound. Her little blue-eyed 
brother, Andrew, frolicked before her, as was his 
wont, when they in childhood sported together in 
some creek adorned by Nature with shells and sea- 
weed. 


AN-NAH^S PROBATIOJSr. 


257 


Ann all was startled from her reverie by the shrill 
cries of the sea-gulls and sedge-hens. The grave- 
yard reminded her of that holy place where Mose*^ 
communed with his Maker, and was commanded to 
loosen his sandals. She reverently knelt at the 
head of her father’s resting-place, and, after giving 
vent to a flood of tears, she raised her eyes to 
Heaven, and, in a soft, dulcet murmur, repeated the 
following stanzas : 

TO MY FATHER IN HEAVEN. 

Father, father, sainted father ! 

You are in the heavenly land, 

Where the cherubim are singing, 

Circled in a happy band. 

I saw thy hard, expiring gasp, 

And view’d that last-drawn breath — 

And I knew thy soul had fled away, 

And was at peace in death I 

An orphan left when very young — 

Not sixteen summers was I — 

One sweet little sister by my side. 

When we saw our father die ; 

There were three brothers weeping ’round, 

• And gazing on the silent dead — 

Oh, how I trembled as I wept. 

And pray’d that I could there be laid 1 

The Mason’s chart, it was thy guide 
While in this dreary world below — 

Thy brothers’ songs did bear thee on 
To that bright world where thou didst go. 


258 


THE GOLDEN LADDER 


I heard the cold clod as it fell 
Upon my father’s silent tomb, 

• And the Mason’s tokens were strewn around, 
With all their green and rich perfume. 

Th’ acacias fell both thick and fast 
In upon the cofBn lid, 

The emblem of the living soul 
Which had down where God had bid. 

Now, dearest father, my faith is strong, 

I know death hath not destroy’d thy love, 
For a shadowy form hath often come 
And flitted ’round me like a dove. 

An angel from the world of light. 

From the seraphs’ blissful dome. 

Hath come unto thy darling child. 

And view’d her in a quiet home. 

Sweet peace and comfort have been brought 
To her from realms of light, 

And cheer’d her in a gloomy hour, 

And in the dreary, silent night. 

Father, father, sainted father ! 

Stay not from me far away — 

Now fortune ’s changed and friends have fail’d. 
Oh, leave me not a single day ! 

The shipwreck’d bark hath long been toss’d 
Upon Time’s rolling billows free. 

But teach me now what rock to shun, 

That in Heaven I may dwell with thee. 

Now thou art changed to another sphere, 

And view us now with other eyes — 

For thy bright soul hath been borne away 
Far from earth, and above the skies. 

But, oh ! when life’s sad hour is ended. 

And thy dear child’s hard struggle ’s o’er, 
May thy loved form to her descending 
Bear her on to that brighter shore ! 


CHAPTER XXIV. 


SEEKING SOLACE. 



awoke suddenly. Like a flaming arrow, a 
conviction is established, and an individual 


^^FTER repeating these lines Annah’s con* 
^ science, which had remained dormant. 


becomes impressed with new ideas of right and 
wrong, of good and evil. Is such a change wrought 
by external or internal influences ? Here we see 
through a glass dimly ; but there, beyond our terres- 
trial sphere, we shall see even as we are seen. We are 
expressly told, by the holy apostle St. James, that 
the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord 
shall raise them up. What does that prove ? Why, 
that those who are sick at heart from the effects of 
sorrow, never yet prayed in vain. The power of 
sympathy between the Creator and his creatures is 
maintained through the spiritual medium of fervent 
devotion. 

Feeling herself utterly forsaken, that she could 
not elude the vigilance of Morgan, and that, conse- 
quently, her death was certain, Annah considered it 
no sin to anticipate the executioner. She forgot 


260 


TBE GOLDEN LADDER 


that faith is only shown by those who firmly rely on 
God for preservation when all hope appears at an 
end. She should have remembered the world-worn, 
world-tainted, world-weary-grown man who, in his 
bitterest affliction, cried : 

“ Gone the glad hope in a dawn of to-morrow, 

Faded, forgotten, the noon of to-day, 

Night closing o’er me, in sadness and son’ow, 

Gloom in the valley, and ghosts on the way. 

All the bright hours of the past I can reckon, 

Memories of anguish they bring unto me ; 

Man cannot guide me, nor angel can beckon, 

God of the hopeless I whom have I but thee 

The despair-stricken wife arose, uncorked the 
phial which contained the deadly narcotic she had 
procured, and raised it to her lips. 

“ O God !” she cried, ‘‘ convince me whether I 
am about to do right or wrong !” 

As she uttered these words, trembling with 
emotion, she sank down upon the mossy ground, 
her hands flew apart, and the phial fell upon the 
tombstone and was shattered into fragments ; the 
poison leaked away, and Annah lay fainting on the 
ground. When she recovered, she felt conscious 
that A Voice was secretly consoling her, Whose lan- 
guage might be thus interpreted : 

“Lo! I am thy God, and will overthrow thine 
enemies. Put thy trust in Me, and I will bring it 


SEEKING SOLACE. 


261 


to pass. Fret thyself because of the ungodly, 
for they shall be cut down as the grass, and be 
withered even as the green herb. 

“ Put thou thy trust in the Lord, and be doing 
good ; dwell in the land, and, verily, thou shalt be 
fed. 

“ Delight thou in the Lord, and he shall give thee 
thy heart’s desire. 

“ Commit thy ways unto the Lord, and put thy 
trust in Him, and He shall bring it to pass. 

“ He shall make thy righteousness and thy just- 
dealing as the noon-day.” 

From this time the sufferer ceased to mourn. 

With an unwavering faith in the protection of the 
Eternal Father of all, and believing that her spirit 
father, mother, and brother were ever near, and that 
eventually she would be rescued from her brutal 
husband, Annah arose and moved slowly away, 
mentally murmuring : “ Oh God, be merciful to me 
a sinner I” New hopes dawned within her, as dawns 
the light over the untraveled waves of the boundless, 
boisterous sea. 

She fancied that Adrian and herself would yet be 
happy together — that her first lover was still living. 
An undefined “ warning dream” arose in her mind. 
Morgan stood before her, when the earth suddenly 
opened between them ; Adrian smiled, when Mar- 


262 


THE GOLDEN LADDER 


cellus disappeared in the crevasse. . Annah was 
spiritually happy ever after. 

As our heroine arose from her father’s grave, in 
all the seraphic majesty of divine faith, a lady, who 
had been watching her movements, came for- 
ward. 

“ My dear Madam,” said the stranger, from my 
window I first noticed you ; so mysterious were 
your gesticulations, so pallid your complexion, that 
my mind was for some time impressed with the idea 
that I beheld a supernatural being. I feel convinced 
that no common affliction has weighed down your 
spirits. I know how to sympathize with a sorrow- 
ing heart ; come to my home ; I am too well ac- 
quainted with grief not to know how to entertain 
the unhappy.” 

This unexpected welcome was as an angel’s visit 
to Mrs. Morgan ; she gratefully grasped the stran- 
ger’s extended hand, and thankfully accepted the 
cordial invitation. A luncheon, consisting of pala- 
table viands and chocolate, produced a salutary 
change in the mourner, who ingenuously confided 
the cause of her misery to one who appeared more 
like a sister than an unknown person. 

Mrs. Toliver had not been persecuted by a hus- 
band ; but a near relative of her own had recently 
divorced a man who was a demi-god in comparison 


SEEKING SOLACE. 


263 


with Morgan. The sympathetic lady thus com- 
naented on the subject. 

“ I have been blessed with a kind, good partner, 
thank God, and I now know how to value him'; but, 
had it been otherwise, I should have acted very 
decidedly. No half measures for me ; the first act 
of infidelity would have been the last, and so with 
every premonitory symptom of barbarity. I now 
recognize you as the Virginia Jewel, for by that 
name your father called you in yoiir childhood, and 
as the belle of the county, fifteen years ago. Alas ! 
your charms have been sadly defaced. Cheer up, 
though ; there is hope for all who have faith in their 
guardian angel.” 

As the lady ceased speaking, a knocking was 
heard without. Instinctively dreading a surprise 
from that trapper, Morgan, Annah retreated to 
a dark parlor. A stranger entered the hall, and 
Annah heard him earnestly inquire for Mrs. Mor- 
gan. The voice of the inquirer was familiar. With 
involuntary joy the poor fugitive advanced from 
her hiding-place ; in another moment she was 
fondly embraced by her affectionate brother 
Andrew. 

The mutual congratulations of Andrew and his 
sister afforded heartfelt gratification to Mrs. Toli- 
ver, who fully appreciated the spirit of indignation 


264 


THE GOLDEN LADDEB. 


evinced by Andrew toward an infamous brother-in- 
law. His determination to bring the culprit to a 
strict account, was highly applauded by the lady. 
And not only by her ; several neighbors dropped in, 
who, whilome, had all loved Annah in childhood ; 
they were enthusiastically disposed to give Morgan 
a warm reception. Annah’s altered appearance pro- 
duced a painful impression upon all who beheld 
her. It had been universally believed that the 
marriage of Mrs. Morgan was a propitious one, and 
her husband a perfect saint — this, according to the 
reports of the Rev. Pilate Patter. Of course this 
amiable Christian represented Mrs. Morgan as a 
Xantippe, and, accordingly, poor Mr. Morgan was 
Socrates personified. Natural reserve, and, a too 
great share of forbearance, caused Annah to sub- 
mit. A delicate tenacity of concealing domestic 
troubles was insisted upon, even by her sister 
Bettie, who knew that the world, in regard to 
matrimonial difficulties, always arrives at one con- 
clusion — namely, that there are faults on both sides. 
Mrs. Patter, ci-devant Mrs. Poy, implored Annah 
not to make her domestic troubles public. 

“ Morgan will in time see his errors,” she would 
argue, “ and it was a wife’s duty to abide the time 
of God’s conversion. How knowest thou, oh woman ! 
but that thou mayest save his soul alive !” exclaimed 


SEEKING SOLACE. 


265 


Mrs. Patter, whose mind, from associations, had 
become tinctured with the cant of the Baptist 
minister, although his expressions, when uttered by 
Annah’s step-mother, were sincere. She was a 
good-hearted, loving woman, but most credulous, 
otherwise she would never have been cajoled into 
uniting herself to so despicable a man as the Pha- 
risaic pulpit-orator of Modest-Town, who rivalled 
Satan in appearing as an angel of light to those 
who sat in darkness. 

There was a peculiar taciturnity observed by 
Andrew, which gave evidence to Annah of her 
brother’s determination to execute some project 
already matured. ’ His lips were compressed, and 
his bright blue eyes seemed to flash whenever the 
name of Morgan was uttered. Annah timidly inti- 
mated the policy of acting with discretion, so as to 
avoid any expose of domestic affairs. 

“ You need not dread the exposure,” said Mrs. 
Toliver ; ‘‘ all of this false delicacy only gives your 
calumniators a wider latitude ; decision of char- 
acter is absolutely necessary. It only requires 
manly or womanly resolution to annihilate a host 
of backbiters. Prove yourself an adept in biting 
sarcasm, and you will resemble a fruit-tree well 
protected with quicklime, for the total destruction 
of blight, and the curculio, and God knows those 
12 


266 


THE GOLDEN LADDER. 


insidious parasitical pests are not greater curses 
to green leaves, blossoms, and fruits, than the 
electrical tongue of that species of the semi-human 
gymnotus, termed a slanderer. The shocks given 
by that monster to a sensitive mind seems to be- 
numb every energy, so that the victim becomes an 
easy prey. A cold-blooded assassin, who indirectly 
destroys an innocent wife, should be spotted as a 
wife-poisoner, for a woman’s peace and happiness 
must indeed have been saturated with poisons to 
induce her to meditate upon self-destruction. 

“ Aha!” ejaculated Andrew, ‘‘’tis as I suspected 
— that broken phial beside my father’s grave — ” 

“ Was wrested from my hand fcy the spirit of my 
sainted father,” added Annah, gently. 

Andrew drew a heavy sigh — he was not a believer 
in the supernatural — then caught the hand of his 
sister within his own, bade a graceful adieu to Mrs. 
Toliver, assisted Annah into his carriage, and drove 
away in the direction of Modest-Town. In a short 
time the affectionate relations were reunited. Bettie 
sobbed like a child, and for once in her life vowed 
that if Andrew Foy did not do something in this 
case, she would take the law into her own hands. 

A generous, warm heart, when glowing with in- 
dignation, assumes a volcanic character, requiring 
an eruption to prevent it from exploding. 


CHAPTER XXV. 


A HOSTILE MEETING. 



ATOMKIN BEACH was certainly raised 
by some good-natured Triton for the es- 
pecial purpose of accommodating pic-nic 
parties. Situated within an easy distance 


of Gargotha Inlet, the enchanted island, crowned 
with salt-water bushes and long green grass, was a 
most delightful summer resort. Thither crowds of 
joyous spirits flitted in row-boats, and many a 
Midsummer Night's Dream was participated in by 
the merry-hearted Virginians. And a Caliban was 
not lacking to give effect to the luminous scene, 
whose broad shadow formed a striking contrast to 
the genius of innocent mirth. Marcellus Morgan 
played the part of the fiend admirably. Old Jack 
Smythe, harmless, hen-pecked, and purblind as an 
owl, was a firm believer in the morality and friend- 
ship of Morgan ; in short, he frequently made a 
public boast that Morgan was as chaste as his own 
wife and daughters. Had Asmodeus been present 
when the last declaration was made, he would cer- 
tainly have lost all sense of gravity, and indulged in 
a hearty cachinnation. 


268 


THE GOLDEN LADDER. 


“ Ho, Jack !” cried Morgan, ‘‘ can’t go free this 
morning ; must have a drink.” 

“ Well, but cannot a fellow wait until after din- 
ner ?” asked Smjthe. “ You know that I never drink 
anything but tea, coffee, and water.” 

“D — e, Jack, don’t be a fool; your wife would 
like you all the better if you had a little more spirit 
in you. Now, then, drink! Here’s to old King 
Alcohol!” 

Smythe was a weak-minded man, and could not 
resist the importunity of any crafty rogue ; conse- 
quently, he drank until he became disgracefully in- 
ebriated. Morgan assisted the stupid ogre, whose 
body resembled a hogshead, into a lighter, and they 
rowed the slumberer into a sequestered creek, 
among a large patch of bulrushes. The maneuverer 
then returned to Kegotank — then Smythe’s plan- 
tation — where the chaste Marcellus boarded after 
Ann all’s departure. He there undertook to give 
Miss Smythe a waltzing lesson while her mother was 
dressing to accompany the gay grass-widower to a 
Matoinkin Beach party. The lesson vras a^trictly 
private one, for even the doors were clos^ by the 
prudent young lady — at least it was so alleged. 

During the comfortable nap of Moses among the 
bulrushes, his immaculate lady and daughter, with 
the younger branches of the family, set off on their 


A EOSTILE MEETING. 


269 


sylvan excursion. But they first partook of plenti- 
ful rations of fat turkey and egg-nogg — the concoc- 
tion of the latter was an accomplishment of Mor- 
gan’s. 

These congenial spirits prided themselves upon 
their ancestral antiquity. No doubt they descended 
from some of the families who followed William the 
Conqueror to England — the originators of a British 
peerage. It certainly was something of which to 
boast, that Morgan and Smythe could trace their 
pedigrees back to that mercenary gang of the Nor- 
man squatter. William was, indubitably, the first 
representative of squatter sovereignty. 

Momus, the god of mirth, waved his magic wand ; 
flashes of merriment combined with music ; the 
laughter of elated children and hilarious glees, 
transformed the quiet region into an “ island of 
tranquil delights.” To the summit of one of the 
hills Marcellus escorted Mrs. and Miss Smythe. 

“ How happy could I be with either !” the grass- 
widower hummed to himself, alternately pressing 
the a]^s of the matronly and youthful ladies. 

Morgan was on the point of extending his walk 
with the fair ones when he was unexpectedly con- 
fronted by a MAN — for Andrew Foy possessed all 
the qualities of his noble father, Fabian. The cred- 
ulous husband, having slept off the effect of the 


270 


TKB GOLDEN LADDER 


drinks which he and Morgan had enjoyed, now re- 
joined the “ happy family,” and had taken Morgan’s 
position as the latter slunk out of sight into a 
ravine. 

“ Where has that tyrannical miscreant hidden 
himself?” cried Andrew. “I mean that fiend in 
human shape, Marcellus Morgan. Are you not one 
of his profligate gang?” 

“ I am proud to say that I am a friend of Mr. 
Morgan,” replied old Jack Smythe, with pompous 
emphasis. “ Mr. Morgan, who is descended on the 
paternal side from an ancient branch nearly allied 
to the mighty Ossian, and on the maternal side he 
can trace back his genealogy to Oscar and Ma- 
brina — ” 

To the first king that ever sat upon an earthly 
throne ; it is easy to trace the descent of so worthy 
a gentleman as Marcellus,” interrupted Andrew. 

“ Ah !” eagerly said Smythe, “ I see that you are 
a scholar, and understand heraldry. I was little 
aware of Mr. Morgan’s real origin. Who was that 
first king, Sir ?” 

“ His Satanic Majesty — he who fell like lightning 
from heaven — ” 

“The devil!” exclaimed fat Jack, starting back. 

“Ex-act-ly-, the devil himself. Sir; your quickness 
of comprehension is charming.” 


A HOSTILE MEETING. 


271 


Whom have we here demanded Mrs. Smythe, 
assuming a threatening attitude. 

“ Oh ! Mrs. Smythe ! Mrs. Smythe !” expostulated 
her husband. Then, turning a little to spell from a 
card handed him by Andrew, he added, Andrew, 
Fabian Foy. By Jove! he’s a first-rate gentleman. 
A chip of the old block. His father was Fabian 
Foy, Esq., one of the crack planters of Virginia, 
who lived at Locust Grove. There is no doubt that 
he came from one of the noblest families that the 
world ever produced, ‘ a chip of the old block.’ ” 

“A chip of the old block indeed, indeed! and a 
blockhead at that,” wrathfully began the excited 
lady of Smythe ; but she was interrupted by Andrew, 
who coldly said : 

My business here is neither with you. Madam, 
nor with this gentleman, who, from his manner, I 
take to be your ‘ liege lord.’ ” Andrew’s blue eyes 
twinkled for a moment ; but his sternness of manner 
immediately returned as he added : “ I came to 

seek one Marcellus Morgan; he whom you are 
* happy to call friend,’ but whom I here pronounce 
the greatest villain unhung. Where is he, the 
tyrannical miscreant ?” 

“Mr. Smythe — Mr, Smythe!” cried the enraged 
wife, poking at fat Jack with her parasol, by way of 
stirring up his valor, “ are you going to suffer this 


272 


THE OOLBEH LADDER 


man to revile our friend Morgan, and to cast a slur 
upon my unimpeachable character?” 

“ The Carthaginian general, Hannibal,” said 
Smythe, whose brain was yet muddled from his 
unwonted libations, “ the Carthaginian general, 
Hannibal, with two such heroes as Fabian Foy 
and Andrew Fabian, would not only have dissolved 
the Alps with vinegar, but would have whipped 
the Eomans and all creation. I only wish Andrew 
Foy was in old Bob Lee’s place, he’d soon whip the 
d — d Yankees off our territory.” 

“I am not here,” said Andrew, *^to discuss the 
war question. I only wish that this man I am 
seeking was in the hottest battle, so that I might 
be saved the trouble of wasting powder on such 
a villain.” 

“Mr. Morgan, Mr. Morgan,” sobbed the neg- 
lected lady, “ come to our protection, c-o-m-e !” 

“ Have you any business with me ?” said Morgan, 
suddenly emerging from ambush, and addressing 
Andrew. 

“ Business that shall quickly be settled,” was the 
brief reply, accompanied by a look that made Mor- 
gan’s heart quail within him. 

“ Sharp work for the eyes,” he muttered, as he 
put his hands into his pockets, with a braggadocio 


air. 


A HOSTILE MEETING. 


273 


Andrew grasped the arm of the planter : 

“Dastardly assassin, you would fain attempt to 
scare me as you have done my sister; but such 
animals as you are to be tamed by men like me.” 

Saying these words, and shaking the poltroon 
with the strength of a giant, Andrew hurled him 
down the side of the steep hill. 

The women rushed to and fro, while the yet semi- 
inebriated Mr. Smythe philosophically remarked : 

“ Nothing but what I expected. The Foys are a 
great institution. Must have descended from King 
Solomon, as Fabian was a Mason. 

The two women rushed to the side of the demor- 
alized Morgan, and frantically endeavored to remove 
the mud-stains from his face with their lace pocket- 
handkerchiefs. 

“ D — n it !” whined the discomfited Marcellus, 
“ have done this fuss. That fellow there could whip 
Yankee Sullivan or Tom Hyer. Don’t you see that 
he has not fooled away his strength like me ? He’s 
right enough ; I have used his sister badly.” 

“ I could have trampled you beneath my feet,” 
said Andrew, who now stood near the cringing cur ; 
“but this acknowledgment of your barbarity has, 
as you probably surmised it would when you made 
it, saved me from crushing out your life, as I would 
that of a poisonous reptile.” 

12 * 


274 the golden ladder. 

“ I know that I have not behaved well, Mr. Foy,” 
cried Morgan, abjectly ; “ but you should thank God 
for being so much my superior. You are a genuine 
angel ; and, doubtless, you are aware that when 
Balaam beheld an angel he fervently wished for a 
sword ; but a bowie-knife would answer my purpose 
just as well, and I am an ass to be unprovided with 
one.” 

Morgan remained for some moments in a sort of 
stupor ; at length he cried aloud : 

“ The latest American champion ! Mr. Foy, I 
should exceedingly like to whip you ; but it seems 
I cannot do it at present.” 

“Unfortunately, my mother has, until very re- 
cently, concealed the long martyrdom of my sister, or 
you might ere this have ceased to live. Hear me ! — ” 

“ I can hear you where I am,” the strange man 
replied. 

Andrew, with his keen sense of the ridiculous, 
scarce knew how to keep his countenance ; but the 
recollection of his pale sister and her sufferings 
came, and he knit his fine brows while he drew forth 
a paper. Prepared for every emergency, he like- 
wise presented Morgan with a pen, and unscrewed 
a portable ink-bottle. 

“ Marcellus Morgan,” he said, “ here is a docu- 
ment which I desire you to sign.” 


A HOSTILE MEETING. 


275 


“ Yoa are all right,” said the planter. “ There, 
* Marcellus Morgan.’ Poor Annah !” — here the 
hypocritical wretch attempted a sigh — “ I must 
have been possessed ; but those old spiteful spin- 
sters, Leach and Pauline, Ahnah’s cousins, the Pol- 
lards and Haplesses, and your own pious stepfather, 
Pilate Patter, make them sign this paper. They, as 
maligners, have far outdone me ; and, most espe- 
cially, I yield the palm in that particular to Mrs. 
Jacovs, the daughter of Patter, and to her husband, 
the righteous deacon of the church, at your service. 
You might give the holy deacon an additional nail 
for his coffin by reporting his honorable conduct when 
postmaster. You might add to the collection many 
others — ” 

“ I wish to listen to no more of your remarks. 
Hear what I have to say. If, directly or indirectly, 
you ever presume to molest my sister before a di- 
vorce is obtained, I swear I will kill you. A divorce 
will soon emancipate my dear sister. Until that 
deliverance is effected, Mrs. Morgan will remain 
under my protection, and woe to any who molests 
her privacy !” 

“ Ha ! ha ! so you are going to sue for a divorce. 
Foy, if you are smarter than I am, go ahead ; I have 
the money.” 

“ Damn your money !” said Andrew, clenching his 


276 


THE GOLDEN LADDER. 


fist. I will pay all for her, and she shall not be 
Annah Morgan one year longer. During the pres- 
ent interview I have studiously avoided the use of 
any weapons but those with which nature has pro- 
vided me. Should we ever meet again our encoun- 
ter shall be brief and decided. Look to it, das- 
tard!” 

Andrew, with a gesture of utter scorn, withdrew. 

Colonel Clinton, Annah’ s uncle, who was return- 
ing from a day’s shooting, slapped Andrew on liis 
shoulder, shouting : 

Heigh ho ! Andrew, my lad, I congratulate you 
on your glorious victory 1 A regular War of Inde- 
pendence I Only wish I was forty years younger ! 
Ah, boy, what would have become of your father’s 
little ‘ Jewel’ had there been no lapidary to give her 
a new setting? She would have remained forever 
hidden in her dark cave.” 

The gray-headed veteran marched off down the 
road to Hopeland, a superb seat on the Atlantic 
Ocean in the neighborhood of Modest-Town. The 
Colonel’s amiable young wife soon entered with 
Annah and her sister, aud the party concluded the 
eventful day in domestic enjoyment. 

Their satisfaction was enhanced by the unex- 
pected arrival of the Rev. John Morton, a worthy 
minister from Baltimore, whose pure character re- 


A HOSTILE MEETING. 


277 


sembled that of the disciple whom Jesus loved. His 
fraternal kindness to Annah, and his Christian con- 
versation and consolation, soothed her perturbed 
mind. 


CHAPTER XXYI. 


A GALLANT DEED. 



HE next morning Andrew conveyed Annah 
on board a steamer bound for Baltimore, 


and taking an affectionate leave of their 
^ friends, they were soon under way. Eoy 
was advised by the Governor to take his sister 
to Maryland, where, in defiance of Morgan, a 
divorce could be obtained. After a few hours’ sail, 
Annah and her brother arrived at the beautiful 
monumental city, saved from Gen. Ross, the British 
officer, by the heroic Macomases. Annah was 
placed in . a pleasant boarding-house, and in a few 
months she began to recover somewhat from the 
frightful dreams and visions which had haunted her 
for years. She had been called a sleep-walker ; so 
she was, a perfect somnambulist ; and it was Mor- 
gan’s treatment that had caused her to fall into that 
melancholy state. 

Our heroine’s natural timidity had been the 
principal cause of her matrimonial sorrow. Had 
the Masons been aware that the daughter of an 


A GALLANT DEED. 


279 


esteemed brother had been victimized by such a 
base man as Marcellus Morgan, they might have 
interfered in her behalf; but she was loth to pub- 
lish her troubles to the world. Her father had 
carried out to the fullest extent the pure principles 
of Freemasonry. During his lifetime his house was 
open to every wayfarer; his interest was never 
solicited in vain. It was most unfortunate for 
Ann ah that she had not married a Mason. However, 
the “ Jewel,” though tried in the furnace of affliction, 
came out unscathed. The halcyon days of youthful 
bliss had been overclouded ; still, like the solar orb, 
the soul of Annah remained unchanged in its vital 
affections and warmth of friendship, imbued with 
that inherent intelligence which is really the light 
of light — for without it the world would all roU on 
in a region of chaotic darkness. 

Like the hallowed mantle of Elijah, a holy 
heritage descended upon her from a benevolent, 
enlightened parent, the boon companion of Solo- 
mon’s most intellectual sons, over them the ever 
watchful eye of Providence is* beaming. It never 
ceases to beam upon those who, struggling across 
the sands of the desert of sorrow, confidently appeal 
to the disinterested friends of the widow and orphan. 
The only true goddess. Charity, beautifies the veiled 
temples of Masonry. 


280 


THE GOLDEN LADDER 


An incident that once occurred at sea was never 
forgotten by Mrs. Morgan. Her deliverer, if living, 
will be grateful to feel that his manly conduct 
created an indelible impression upon Annah’s 
memory. Marcellus Morgan occasionally indulged 
in marine excursions, and sometimes during the first 
few years subsequent to his marriage, took his wife 
on board — not by the arm ; she was left to follow. 
Upon one of these occasions a sudden storm arose, 
which agitated the erstwhile smiling sea, transform- 
ing the ripples to mountainous billows and breakers. 
Like flying fiery serpents, flames of electric fluid 
leaped from the sable clouds, and rived in twain 
the pliant spars of the schooner, which groaned and 
quivered as the waves lifted her high on their frothy 
crests, and then receding, bowed her down in the 
dark valley of waters, while the billows burst and 
broke over her in cataracts, as though mocking her 
misery, thirsting for her annihilation. The rain fell 
in torrents and the tempest-driven spray flew in blind- 
ing sheets across the slippery decks of the dismasted 
hulk, as the mountainous rollers bore her swiftly 
along toward land and destruction. A long, low, 
sandy beach, upon which the surf broke with a 
hoarse, deafening roar, lay on their lee, and slowly, 
but steadily, the unmanagable craft was drifting to- 
ward it. The skipper, a stanch, weather-beaten old 


A GAZZAWT DEED. 


281 


tar, lashed to the helm, endeavored to keep the Alice 
head to sea ; but, as not a cloth could be set, his efforts 
were futile and the "waves made a clean breach over 
the deck. 

“ Clear away the long-boat, my lads ; it will be 
our only chance now,” he shouted through his 
speaking trumpet ; and as his voice rang high above 
the din of the warring elements, the seamen severed 
the boat’s-gripes and prepared to launch her bodily 
over the side. But ere they could accomplish their 
purpose, a giant billow burst aboard, and, crushing 
the boat to fragments, carried it and four brave 
fellows overboard. A wild cry broke from all on 
that hapless craft as they saw their shipmates 
driven to their death, and an echoing cry from the 
lips of some “ strong swimmer in his agony” sounded 
a mournful requiem. 

The Alice was now only a few cable lengths 
from the beach, and the captain no longer en- 
deavored to conceal from the passengers the dread 
peril that menaced them. 

“ She will go to pieces directly she touches. Life- 
preservers are in the cabin ; our only chance is to 
trust to them,” he cried. 

Morgan no sooner heard this than he dived down 
into the cabin with the utmost alacrity, and heeding 
not the anxious inquiries of his terror-stricken wife, 


282 


TBE GOLDEN LADDER. 


who was praying therein, soon reappeared with one 
of the life-preservers encircling his waist. 

“Is there not a lady below, Sir?” inquired a man, 
addressing Morgan, to whom he was a perfect 
stranger. 

“ I believe so, I don’t know,” replied the trembling 
craven. 

The stranger’s lips curled scornfully, as, without 
deigning to utter the anathema at his heart, he 
sprang down the companion-way into the cabin. 

“ Come, Madam ! we have not a moment to lose ; 
the vessel will soon be ashore, and our only chance 
is to trust in Providence and the mercy of the 
waves.” Then, without any further circumlocution, 
he seized her in his stalwart arms and bore her upon 
deck. 

Scarcely had they gained it ere the schooner 
struck with such violence that all on board were 
prostrated, and before they could regain their foot- 
ing, huge billows leaped aboard and washed them 
clear of the dismantled wreck. Had not the 
stranger been at hand, Annah’s woes would have 
forever ceased. He never loosed his hold of the fair 
woman he had carried from the cabin, but drew her 
head upon his shoulder, and, with her fleece of locks 
fanning his face and her warm breath upon his 
cheek, struck boldly out for the shore. It was not 


A GALLANT DEED. 


283 


far distant, but the surf ran high, and broke ever 
and anon with irresistible fury. The stranger was a 
strong swimmer, however, and his brave heart, filled 
with desire to save his beauteous burden, gave him 
additional power with which to combat the angry, 
foam-capped waves. At length one billow higher 
than the rest flung high its human jetsam on the 
pebbly strand, and, ere ocean could redraw him to 
its hoary bosom, the stranger, though battered and 
bruised by the force with which the life-giving wave 
had hurled him ashore, sprang to his feet and bore 
the unconscious Annah beyond the reach and rage 
of Neptune. 

While he was endeavoring to restore the inani- 
mate lady, he noticed a little Masonic badge — the 
square and compass — which had formerly belonged 
to her father, and which she used sometimes to 
wear as a brooch, glittering on her bosom. 

“ I have additional reason to be thankful that I 
saved her ; some of her friends probably belong to 
our holy order, and I have rendered a brother good 
service,” he murmured. 

By the time Annah’s senses returned, Morgan 
and the rest of the crew, whose life-belts had saved 
them, approached. 

“ My husband. Sir,” said Mrs. Morgan, faintly, in 
answer to the look of inquiry the stranger gave her 


284 


TBS GOLDEN LADDEE, 


upon seeing Marcellus approaching her with his 
usual rude familiarity. 

Had you been a Freemason, Sir,” observed the 
stranger, “ I should have been deprived of the 
pleasure of performing the most pleasant duty ever 
imposed upon me — that of saving the life of your 
amiable wife.” 

Morgan, looking vacantly at the speaker, replied : 

“ Stranger, I’ve no doubt you are a fine fellow — 
though rather green about women, I guess. You 
are a Mason, eh ?” 

“ I am proud to be able to reply in the affirma- 
tive,” was the rejoinder. 

“ Well, that’s all right as far as it goes,” said Mar- 
cellus, “ but Masonry is all bosh. I am an enemy 
to secret societies. I wonder the surf did not make 
us all members of a very secret society. So you 
saved my rib, did you ? That is as much as to say, 
you have given me a bone to pick. He, he, ha ! 
Well, good deeds reward themselves, you know ; 
though I guess if you’d known Annah there was a 
married woman, you would not have been so anxious 
to bring her along through the briny.” 

“ I am a married man. Sir,” proudly replied the 
Mason. “ My wife is as dear to me as the apple of 
my eye.” 

“ Marriage is only an old-fashioned ceremony,” 


A GALLANT DEED. 


285 

said Morgan, coolly. “ ’Tis quite out of date in the 
present utilitarian state of society.” 

The Mason started in disgust. Turning to An- 
nah, he impressively exclaimed : 

“ ‘ Cast not pearls before swine, lest they turn 
and rend thee.’ ” 

Morgan was too much occupied wringing his sat- 
urated garments to notice the stranger’s caustic re- 
mark. When the storm abated somewhat they pro- 
ceeded inland, and found temporary shelter in a 
cottage. Annah’s preserver, however, became so 
annoyed at the ill-timed levity of Marcellus, who, 
having just escaped from death, might have at least 
been decorous, that he abruptly departed, and Mrs. 
Morgan, to her regret, never again beheld the gal- 
lant fellow who had rescued her from a watery grave. 

Oh, that the holy order of Freemasonry might be 
established in every family throughout creation — 
then there would be no more penury ! The rich 
would then pay genius, talent, and industry accord- 
ing to their deserts, and those unable to work would 
be provided for. 

What Brother Mason, while fondling an innocent 
daughter upon his knee, can prevent the degradation 
to which the child may be exposed in after-life if, 
like our heroine, she should be linked to such an 
individual as Morgan ? 


286 


THE GOLDEN LADDER. 


AN ALLEGOKY. 

When Angels no longer wooed the daughters of 
men, and the holy flower-seeds of Eden had ceased 
to hallow the earth with celestial blossoms, an an- 
•cient man went forth, with his staff, in search of 
two Guabdian Angels who had once followed the 
footsteps of Adam. Those sacred hierarchs, like 
Moses after his descent from Mount Sinai, were 
veiled, commemorative of the fall of man. They 
were seldom visible ; when they were, with luminous 
colossal forms they diffused refulgent halos, causing 
human hearts to glow with joy ! The ancient man 
walked onward for many days, but no such divine 
beings as those he sought could anywhere be found. 
A voice was heard to cry : “ An eye for an eye, and 
a tooth for a tooth.” And wherever that war-whoop 
resounded, Adam’s Guardian Angels were unknown. 

The children of Israel rebuked the venerable sage, 
saying : 

“ Lo ! thou art seeking for the cherubim enshrined 
within the mystic arc, the Holy of Holies !” 

“ Nay,” answered the wanderer ; “ I seek for the 
Guardian -ingels of man, and, sooth, I feel that they 
are not far distant.” 

The patriarch beheld a battle-field not far off. 
The air was darkened by showers of arrows. Pon- 


A GALLANT DEED. 


287 


derous stones, launched from slings, cleft the atmos- 
phere on high. Hosts of armed men, maddened 
with fury, rushed upon each other. Two combat- 
ants with swords and shields, more vengeful than 
their fellows, battled apart, until within bow-shot of 
the ancient wanderer. At length one gained the 
vantage ground ; his brave opponent faltered ; but, 
ere he fell, that vanquished warrior made a sigm 
The w^eapons of the victor were cast aside. An- 
tagonists no more, the twain locked each other in a 
hrotherly embrace ! Smiling above them, two gigan- 
tic winged forms appeared, descending from the 
firmament. 

Satisfied with the travail of his soul, the good old 
man rejoiced with exceeding great joy ; for in those 
heavenly sanctities he recognized man’s Guardian 
Angels, who were known unto Adam as Generosity 
and Gratitude. 

As mother and daughter, they worshipped the 
supreme Architect^ Who proclaimeth unto every af- 
flicted spirit, ‘‘ The stone lohich the builder rejected 
hath become the head stom in the corner.*' Who, 
after that, can despair? the eternal key-stone of 
the arc of God in Emmanuel — God with us. 

By the wisest of the sons of men were the sym- 
bols of benevolence established. A sign is sufficient 
to resuscitate the glowing genius of Generosity. 


288 


THE GOLDEN LADDER. 


Whose smiles of love awakeneth sweet Grati- 
tude? Those Seraphims reign in every Masonic 
Lodge. 

A wicked and perverse geifieroMon seeheth after A 
SIGN. 

The only true signs are to be found in Masonry ^ 
whose free and accepted brethren visit the widow 
and fatherless in their affliction, and keep themselves 
unspotted from the world. Who, after that, can 
despair ? 


CHAPTEE XXYII. 


FILLED TO THE BRIM. 



^HE heroine of onr tale left Morgan in 
possession of all her property ; not even 
obtaining her jewelry and her clothing for 
the space of two years. Her friends did as 
much as could be expected ; she had but two broth- 
ers and one delicate sister. 

Mrs. Morgan, while awaiting her divorce, exerted 
herself to obtain a school, in which project she suc- 
ceeded. A certain woman of her acquaintance was 
in want, and to benefit this person Annah went to 
board with her, williilg to put up with her poverty 
for the sake of teaching and boarding in the same 
house. The name of this person was Foose, and 
Annah had been in the family but a short time when 
she discovered that she was a disciple of Bacchus, 
and drank all the spirituous liquors that she could 
obtain. But then Mrs. Morgan had a very good 
school; the weather, moreover, was exceedingly 
cold, and she thought perhaps it might not be gen- 
erally known that her landlady drank. Mrs. Fooso 
was a spiritual medium, but she misused the attributes 
13 


290 


THE GOLDEN LADDER. 


with which she had been endowed from above — as 
do many othei'? who apply the power given them for 
the purpose of diffusing ‘‘ light to those in darkness,” 
to meet their own ends of personal aggrandizement. 
Although there is not a shadow of doubt but that 
our spiritual friends visit earth, and hold communion 
with those they love, in order to guide and direct 
their footsteps through the miry ways of this world, 
yet we must bear in mind that spirits of evil also 
enter into mortal frames for opposite purposes ; so 
we should be careful in ascertaining the moral status 
of mediums ere we patronize them, or attend their 
seances. We would not tolerate for a moment the 
teachings of any medium ^vho does not live secretly 
a moral life ; and we think such persons should be 
strictly religious, for this does not come from men, 
but from the angel-world. 

When Mrs. Morgan had been a few weeks in the 
house of Mrs. Foose, and her school was prospering 
finely, her landlady was called away by business 
to Kichmond, Virginia. Annah had proposed to 
leave, and endeavored to obtain another boarding 
place; but Mrs. Foose insisted that Mrs. Morgan 
should remain, and attend to her children during 
her absence. To this Annah, at length, reluctantly 
consented. Mrs. Foose left Annah in charge, and 
specially requested her not to allow the children 


FILLED TO TEE BBIM. 


291 


to waste the provisions and money. Our heroine 
tried her best to do^ this, and managed to save 
all that was possible. But, upon the lady’s return, 
the first salutation Annah received was severe abuse. 
Mrs. Foose sent her daughter Elizabeth out to 
obtain some whisky, and drank a quantity between 
breakfast* and dinner-time. When Annah returned 
from her school duties, this lady again commenced 
her harangue. 

‘‘Mrs. Morgan, since my return home I notice 
that there has been a great deal wasted or destroyed 
in some manner during my absence, and the money 
which I left the children could never have been used 
in the family, — it has been otherwise expended.” . 

“ What do you mean, Mrs. Foose ? Do you dare 
to insinuate that I spent your money ?” 

“ I did not say so ; but I do say that my children 
could not have used it all.” 

“ Well,” returned Mrs. Morgan, “ that is as much 
as to say that I spent it. The children had it in 
their own possession ; I never interfered at all with 
them, save to suggest to them not to waste it 
Madam, I will leave your house immediately.” 

Whereupon Mrs. Foose burst into a violent rage ; 
her cheeks became like peonies, and her eyes re- 
minded Annah of Morgan’s when that gentleman 
I was engaged in what he called a “ frolic.” 


292 


THE GOLDEN LADDER. 


‘‘Well!” thought Mrs. Morgan, “I am certainly 
beset. If there is a fiend i^ woman’s shape, here 
it is. I must break up my school, and again re- 
move. I see that she is intoxicated. Oh I what 
an awful sight it is to behold a woman under the 
influence of liquor.” 

Mrs. Foose ranted and raved like a maniac, even 
threatening to place Annah’s things out upon the 
street. Mrs. Morgan answered not a word, but put 
on her hat, and issued out in search of a home. 
During her ramble she met a lady who had been 
teaching in the country, and who owned the house 
where she had taught. She desired Mrs. Morgan 
to go to this place, to inform the gentleman there 
by whom she had been sent, and, perhaps, he would 
permit her to take the room just vacated by the 
lady herself. 

Annah felt encouraged to think that she might 
obtain a school in the country, about a mile and a 
half out on the Hookstown road. She left Baltimore 
after four o’clock, the earliest hour at which she 
could be released from her pupils. There were no 
stages or cars running the direction she wished to 
proceed, and the sky was over-clouded, but Annah 
hoped that she would be able to complete her little 
journey before the inpending storm broke. She 
hastened along as fast as possible. When she ar- 


FILLED TO THE BRIM. 


293 


rived at her destination, darkness shadowed the 
earth, and the rain fell in torrents. 

Annah repeated to the gentleman in possession 
what Mrs. Davis had told her in regard to the 
school ; but he was unwilling that any one except- 
ing the landlady should teach. 

“ Oh ! what shall I do ?” thought Annah. ‘‘ Here 
am I out in the country, in the midst of a 
storm.” 

The rain beat against the windows, and the wind 
blew furiously. The wife and daughter of the 
gentleman entered the room, and engaged Annah 
in conversation. Mrs. Morgan, after aw'hile, arose 
from her chair, approached the door, looked out, 
and said : 

“I never in my life saw it rain more furiously. 
How shall I return to Baltimore? The clay was 
over my boots when I came.” 

She thought that these remarks might induce the 
people to invite her to remain for the night, but 
they declined taking the very palpable hint she 
threw out. Then Annah, knowing that she was not 
well, ventured to ask if she could not stop all night, 
for she could see no prospect of a change in the 
weather. She was denied shelter. 

“ No ! we can accommodate no one,” said the 
occupant of the dwelling. 


294 


THE OOLDEH LADDER. 


“ I will pay you,” rejoined the poor, weary soul, 
who had about two shillings in her pocket. 

“ No !” reiterated the hardened man, “ you cannot 
remain, we have no accommodation.” 

Great heavens,” thought Annah Morgan, ‘‘I 
have been living on the earth with a race of beings 
whose hearts are hard as flints, yet I have never 
once suspected that such a class existed on this 
beautiful globe.” 

Here was a test! as the one she had left that 
same day. The sorrow^-stricken woman again arose 
and went to the door. It was now half-past eight 
o’clock, and the rain still fell in torrents. Annah 
looked in every direction; the night was dark as 
Erebus ; but she knew that she had to leave, for they 
had told her that she could not stay ; so she bade 
the inhospitable people “ good-night,” and issued 
into the open air. Every step buried her feet in 
the mire ; the clayey soil adhered to her boots and 
impeded her progress, while the rain beat violently 
in her face ; but she struggled bravely on until she 
reached Baltimore. As she entered the city the 
lamps gave a dim light. 

“ Ah 1” thought the weary creature, “ the light of 
hope is as dim in my heart as these lamps are to 
my tired eyes. Could my spirit but leave this 
body, it would be well. Why am I permitted to 


FILLED TO THE BRIM. 


295 


live to be buffeted from post to pillar by all classes 
and degrees of people ?” 

There were no cars on that dreary route, or she 
might have rode. After a walk of several hours 
iWnah arrived at the house where she resided. 
She rapped, and was admitted by Mrs. Foose, who, 
as soon as Annah entered, exclaimed : 

“ Why, I thought that you had gone out in order 
to procure another boarding place.’' 

She saw that the unhappy lady was dripping wet, 
but little she cared — she was one of Lucifer’s dar- 
lings. Mrs. Morgan took a seat beside the stove, 
intending to remain a few moments for the pur- 
pose of warming and drying herself ; but Mrs. 
Foose again commenced to talk over what the 
children had consumed. Then Annah started up 
stairs with the determination to remain up there all 
night, and sleep upon the floor — there were no beds 
•excepting down stairs. 

Not very long before this event, while her little 
scholars were learning their tasks, Annah had com- 
posed the following verses on the home of her birth ; 
now they recurred to her mind \vth full force. 

REMINISCENCES. 

Oh tell me no more of the home of my childhood, 

Where sparkling waves surge on the shell-begemmed shore, 

Where forest-trees flourish, and willows are weeping 
By moonlight — I never shall gaze on them more I 


296 


TUE GOLDEN LADDER. 


Remind me no more of my once happy birthplace, 

Of childhood’s enchantment, where giddy and gay. 

With kindred and friends, I then dreamed not of strangers 
Whose frowns have o’erclouded my young summer’s day. 

Reveal not to me the cold tomb of my parents ; 

Their unburied souls, as the ocean waves surge, 

Seem hymning a requiem — the words are melodious — 
While flood-gulls and sea-mews seem chanting a dirge. 

Like sere yellow leaves, my false friends all keep falling 
Away from misfortune and crumble to dust, 

While naught doth remain for the mourner to gaze on 
But Hope’s fleeting shadow producing distrust. 

My countiy and home are now painful to muse on ; 

The grass still is green and gay birds charm the grove, 

And cedars yet flourish ; but where are those dear ones 
As gentle as turtle-doves glowing with love I ^ 

Henceforth as a phantom I glide to my birthplace ; 

The voices I loved I can never hear more ; 

While lonely on earth I continue to linger 
The waves seem to mock me still lashing the shore. 

Here was sorrow tenfold ! She had escaped from 
the grasp of Morgan, but here were other troubles 
yet to be overcome. The wet and weary woman 
removed her drenched garments, put on others, then 
took a pillow which was in the corner of the room, 
placed it under her head, and, with some of her own 
clothing for covering, lay down upon the bare planks, 
there being no carpet upon the floor. Her troubled 
heart ached with every beat. 

“ Oh,” sighed the Jewel, ‘‘ why has God spared 


FILLED TO THE BRIM. 


297 


my life ? Why am I permitted to live through all 
this punishment ?” 

While shedding the most bitter tears she fell 
asleep. When she awoke it was with difficulty that 
she could move ; but she dressed herself and went 
out without having partaken of any breakfast. 
Seeing a bill in a window, “ Apartments to let,” she 
entered the touse in order to inquire if she could 
hire the rooms. The inmates of the house were, evi- 
dently, poor, but seemed very respectable. Annah 
hired the first floor — two parlors — of the domicil, 
and, as it was in the neighborhood of her former 
residence, she removed her things that day. She 
gave her references to her new landlord, who did not 
seem to doubt her in the least, but said that he was 
satisfied to have her as a tenant. 

After Annah had been settled for a few weeks in 
her new residence, and had received some new 
pupils, Mrs. Foose sent word to her landlord that 
Mrs. Morgan would not pay her rent, and that she 
had been obliged to turn her out of the house. 
These people had been very kind to Mrs. Morgan, 
but after the receipt of this news they treated her 
with great coolness. 

Slander, thou vile anJ hideous reptile ! Thou 
incarnate fiend of perdition ! The hottest place in 
the darkest spheres is none too severe for such 
13 * 


298 


THE GOLDEN LADDEB. 


demons in human shape as this old Medium,” as 
she called herself, and many others just like her. 
We hope no intellectual, honorable person will tol- 
erate such people. Who would go to procure com- 
munications from such a creature ? All vile char- 
acters injure the cause of spiritual progress, and 
will continue to do so until this class of people be- 
come more developed, and live pioi^^, Christian 
lives. 

The Morleys did not know Mrs. Morgan, and of 
course they felt strangely about it. By this time 
the weather had become bitterly cold ; everything 
was frozen. Annah had to heat her school-room or 
lose her pupils ; the proceeds of the school was all 
that she had to depend upon. In consequence of 
the extreme cold weather, which made it necessary 
to use at that time (people used mostly wood-stoves) 
a large quantity of wood, she became in arrears for 
the rent. She requested her landlord, or rather the 
man Morley, of whom she rented the rooms, to be 
a little patient, and she would soon pay him. He 
had no feeling, but insulted her, informing her that 
if she did not pay her rent at once she must abide 
by the consequences. She then, on one bitter even- 
ing, started out to endeavor to borrow the money, 
supposing that the parents of some one of her pupils 
might loan the small amount ; but not a cent could 


FILLED TO THE BUIM. 


299 


she obtain. She walked about from four o’clock 
until ten at night. The streets were in a dreadful 
state ; there had been sand put down to prevent 
accidents by falling ; but poor Annah had to travel 
the slippery pavements in the endeavor to keep a 
roof over her head. When she returned home her 
hands were so stiff that she could not feel the key 
in her fingers. At one time she thought that she 
must freeze to death on the streets, but she succeed- 
ed in reaching home. 

“ Oh God !” she cried, as she stood on the cold 
steps, shivering, “will my mercenary old aunt ever 
be forgiven for her cruelty toward me, and in en- 
couraging me to marry so young ?” 

At last she succeeded in unlocking the door. She 
entered her chilly, dreary apartments, and laid down, 
aching in every limb with cold all night. In the 
morning she arose early, made a fire, and endeav- 
ored to warm herself. During all this time of suf- 
fering she continually thought of her Aunt Betsie, 
the forged letter, and the golden ladder ; also of her 
maiden cousins, Leah and Pauline, now withered 
and gray, who had always envied their beautiful 
cousin, therefore they pitied not her sufferings. 
Her Cousin George, a minister, was the only one of 
the family who had any sympathy with Annah dur- 
ing these dark hours of life. He was a dear good man. 


300 


THE GOLDEN LADBEB. 


Annah Morgan, the pet Jewel of Fabian Foy, was 
now mingling with dark spirits ; yes, demons in 
human shape, such as this earth is infested with. 
Morgan and his co-workers had caused it all. He 
had deprived an innocent woman of her property, 
and these strangers took advantage of her penniless 
condition. "What a sermon could Annah’s aunt 
have preached her favorite Marcellus. In this 
singing process she should have warned him to flee 
the wrath to come. On the following morning Mr. 
Morley came to her school-room and demanded the 
money due for rent. Annah told him how she had 
been disappointed; but he only swore at her, and 
declared that she must obtain it before ten o’clock. 
This she knew to be an impossibility. Mrs. Mor- 
gan’s landlord was a low-bred man, so she excused 
his language, yet she was almost crazy with anxiety. 

Ah ! was not her guardian angel watching over 
her in all this dilemma? Was not the spirit of 
her beloved father looking down from his heavenly 
home, witnessing these, her troubles ? Most assur- 
edly. The magnetic cord betw^een father and 
daughter was touched, and his elevated soul pitied 
her sufferings, and impelled another human being 
to search out his darling child and relieve her woes. 
<rhis is the way our spiritual friends aid us in this 
sorrowing world. They impress the minds of others 


FILLED TO THE BBIM. 


801 


to relieve our sufferings. What a glorious light has 
burst upon the world in the nineteenth century ! 

Happily, a lady came that day with two children, 
and entered them in the school. Annah gained cour- 
age to ask for their tuition in advance, and it was 
paid, otherwise, no one knows what the consequences 
might have been. 

Annah Morgan began to feel that God sat on the 
throne above, and, although her life’s path had been 
one of thorns, she now hoped that the roses of 
Sharon would bloom for her ; that the roots of the 
lily-of-fhe-valley were not dead, and that in the 
spring-time, perhaps, her troubles might pass away. 
In April she closed her school, intending to make 
a visit to her brother, when another difficulty pre- 
sented itself. 

Mrs. Morgan, wishing to obtain board for a short 

time, called upon a lady, by name Mrs. Ada B , 

who “ took in” lodgers. This lady was also endeav- 
oring to obtain a divorce from her husband ; and, 
as Annah Morgan was ever ready to pity one in her 

own situation, she weot to board with Mrs. B . 

The family of this lady Annah knew to be very re- 
spectable people ; her father being a medical man, 
and her sister, Julia, a very excellent young lady. 
But Mrs. B was subtile. A more disagreeable 


302 


THE OOLDEN LADDER. 


woman could not be found. Her temper was like 
fox-fire, flashing at all times. 

Mrs. Morgan had lost much of the courage that 
she once exercised. When a child she killed a 
black snake one morning on her way to school, when 
her brother ran from the reptile ; but now, seem- 
ingly, she could not hurt a worm. Although Mrs. 

B was a strange woman, our heroine was not 

disposed to believe all she heard ; yet she soon 
noticed some singular actions of her landlady. 

She remained some weeks ; but, as soon as pos- 
sible, changed her boarding-house. Annah was 
once more again with Mrs. Burns, and a kinder and 
more Christain-like woman never existed. For a 
long time Mrs. Morgan heard no more of Mrs. 
B ; but, when she did, the information she re- 

ceived concerning her showed how much the woman 
was infamous. 


CHAPTER XXVIII. 


“UP IN A BALLOON.” 



O show to what a degree imagination 
may carry one, we will introduce a few 


verses composed by Mrs. Morgan upon the 


^ occasion of a balloon ascension in Balti- 
more. This is one of the most marvelous flights 
that the mind of our heroine ever took. 

In the monumental city there was a place par- 
ticularly set apart for the ascension of balloons. It 
was situated in the northern part of the city ; and 
thither, with many others, had Mrs. Morgan resorted 
on this occasion. A woman was to make the ascent, 
but the fair creature did not make her appearance. 
The balloon was ready, but the heart of the female 
failed. Courage was not so conspicuous a quality in 
that damsel as in Queen Philippa, when she marched 
into the battle-fleld and assisted her troops in war. 
No one was prepared to take the towering flight 
above the trees, hills, and valley^ v All eyes 
anxiously awaited the fair aeronaut, but she did not 
appear to fulflll her engagement. 

Annah stood gazing at the crowd. Her mind 


304 


THE OOLBEH LADDER. 


was filled with thoughts of Adrian, who was then 
across the deep blue sea ; and the reader may sup- 
pose that the Jewel thought of that wandering star 
on the East Indian shore who had been set at 
naught by Aunt Betty — the tyrannical, aristocratic 
old lady. 

Annah, as may be supposed, was much given to 
musing. After returning home that evening and 
partaking of the vesper meal, she went out upon 
the verandah, and, having comfortably ensconced 
herself in an easy-chair, gave rein to her fancy. 

Perhaps there is no pastime more pleasant to 
those who are care-worn and heavy-laden with sor- 
row than that of rearing castles in the air. During 
the construction of these edifices our troubles, trials, 
and exigencies are utterly forgotten, and sweet 
dreams of perfect felicity reign in their stead. But 
these, like all other earthly joys, are evanescent; a 
word, a thought, will break the spell — our diateoMX 
en Espagne vanish into empty air, and stern reality, 
with its bitterness and woe, presents itself, in all its 
hideousness, to our aching eyes. 

It was a calm and peaceful night — so calm that 
scarce a leaflet fluttered in the air. Scintillant stars 
gemmed the dark azure dome of heaven, and no 
sound broke the solemn stillness that prevailed, 
save, at intervals, the sweet, plaintive note of Philo- 


UP IN A balloon: 


305 


mel, the bereaved, who tuned her nocturnal lament 
to the sleeping flowers. 

Fixing her eyes upon that corruscation of bright 
orbs, the Pleiades, Annah fell into a deep reverie. 
At first she thought of the mythological story anent 
“ the seven sisters” — how that they were the off- 
spring of Atlas and Pleione, and, being beloved of 
Jupiter, were by the King of Heaven changed into 
stars ; how that Merope fell from her high estate 
and dimmed forever her luster by marrying a mor- 
tal ; and to this unfortunate victim she compared 
herself. This was the commencement of the sum- 
mer vacation, and our heroine felt weary of labor 
and longed for rest ; and while gazing and thinking 
filled her mind with strange ideas, she longed to 
reach that spirit-land above the stars that smiled 
sweet invitations unto her, until at length her 
senses swam, and a dream, wreathed in fair flow- 
ers of poesy, brought bliss to her pain-pulsed 
bosom. 

The scene she had that day witnessed had^made 
so strong an impression upon her that it influenced 
her sleeping thoughts, and she fancied that she her- 
self supplied the place of the delinquent aeronaut. 
As a wonderful flight of fancy, it is well worthy of 
production ; let us call it ; 


306 


THE GOLDEN LADDER. 


AN AERONAUT’S JUBILANT. 

The stars are all beaming with faces above me, 

Their smiles in the moonlight are silvering the sea, 
My father and mother, to show how they love me, 
Like jewels from heaven, send meteors to me. 

The spherical music I hear in the zenith, 

My brother is chanting the language of love 
As breath’d by the angels, I know what it meaneth. 
The power of sympathy is reigning above. 


What demon is that ? Oh ! I cannot misconstrue 
Its characteristics, view’d often in sleep ; 

A ghastly phosphoric, and dim-eyed sea-monster 
Is watching for Annah below in the deep. 

It mounts to the refluent waves of the ocean, 
Enshrining the soul of Marcellus : — I’ll dive 

Down into the depths, to watch every motion, 

And then re-emerge in the air, to revive. 

Ah 1 now in a bay some fond friend hath allured it, 

A fisherman’s net hath entangled that shark ; 

I know ’tis my Adrian who hath secured it, 

Lock-jaw’d with a stake, it can’t reach my bark. 

O Adrian ! why is thy star ever cross’d, love, 

With doubt’s heavy clouds while my vessel I steer ? 

Should I lose that star, truly I should be lost, love. 
Thy spirit reigns in it my spirit to cheer. 

» 

To Asia I’ll float in the firmament ; Annah, 

Thy own guardian augel is reigning in bliss ! 

’Tis angels’ food now that I sigh for — the manna 
Imbibed from a smile, and enjoy’d in a kiss. 

My dungeon was rent by an earthquake ; sulph’roua 
Blue lightning is harmless ! A thunderbolt fell 

To crush my tormentor — a tyrant as furious 
As Lucifer. Star of the morning, farewell I 


“CTP m A balloon:’ 


307 


But my morning-star hath never yet risen ! 

Thine eyes, mine own Adrian, those are the stars 
Whose light would transform the dark walls of a prison, 
Yea, into a mine lit with jewels and spars. 

Again I’m descending to float in the moonlight 
O’er glittering waves, and, like Psyche, my soul 
Is sighing for thine, love, to change into noon night, 
That night that hath held me so long in control. 


I’ll soar in the heights ! There’s an eagle beneath me ; 

Its claws are of iron to torture my breast ! 

But heaven’s own silvery cloud doth ensheath me — 
Marcellus no more shall thy Annah molest. 

A comet is flashing ; its radiance so fiery 
Appears like a falchion, a symbol of strife. 

O’er Sunderbunds*^ shining, where waters are miry 
Where tigers and poisonous serpents are rife. 


Upon a white elephant sits my own lover 
He slew the wild savage, the fiend of Bengal. 

The head of the serpent he crush’d, and I’ll hover 
Aloft as in triumph he enters Nepaul. 

The comet hath gleam’d o’er the orient regions. 

Brave ‘Adrian charges the foe without fear I 
His sword i§ enchanted to slaughter a legion — 

His own guardian angel, fond Annah, is near. 

> 

My father and mother and brother are crowning 
With stars the brave victor; poor Annah resign’d 
To tarry awhile, tho’ Marcellus is frowning. 

He never can soar upon wings of the wind. 


* The Sunderbunds lie at the mouth of the river Hoogly, a 
tributary of the Ganges, and are wastes and jungles, the only 
denizens of which are tigers, alligators, and venomous reptiles. 


308 


THE GOLDEN LADDER. 


Thy rifle-shots never can reach me, Marcell us — 

No maddening strait-jacket my powers restrain — 
No wild-horse can rack me : Lucre tia be jealous, 
The lost Jewel’s restored, and is free from a stain ! 


O God ! soothe my senses. Ah, list to.a chorus 
Of angels — the spherical music is sweet. 

The globe may dissolve, but while heaven is o’er us, 
The pure in heart ever shall flourish like wheat. 


CHAPTEK XXIX. 

GALE-DRIVEN. 



^OME little while afterward Mrs. Morgan 
was residing at her uncle’s, determined to 
endeavor to recuperate her health by pro- 
ceeding upon a visit to New York, in a 
schooner belonging to her uncle, Colonel Clinton. • 
She embarked at Gargatha Inlet, on the coast of 
Accomac. Captain Bloxsum was a hero in mina- 
ture, a Lilliputian in size, but a giant in soul. His 
logic was this, that “unless men could serve each 
other, the sooner they kicked the bucket the better.” 

“ Why,” said he, “ I should be ashamed to look 
my Newfoundland dog in the face if he had saved 
more people than I. A man’s first duty is to learn 
swimming and diving. I saved many a life before I 
was twenty, and, actually, like Neptune, found my 
wife at the bottom of the sea. You may guess how 
that was. Phoebe was washed overboard by fate, on 
purpose that I should find a pearl of great price. I 
saved her from a watery grave, and she, out of grat- 
itude, saved me from being a grave bachelor.” 

Annah enjoyed to her heart’s content the sea- 


310 


THE GOLDEN LADDEE. 


breeze, and the natty appearance of the sailors, as 
they ran aloft like monkeys, or chanted in chorus 
their quaint refrains as they hauled the ropes that 
set to the zephyrs the snow-white sails. 

*‘How mysteriously silent all nature appears!” 
exclaimed Annah, whose mind was tranquilized 
more than it had been for many years. When the 
spirit of God moved on the face of the waters, ere 
the green earth emerged from the deep, the heavens 
would not have shone more gloriously with flame- 
• colored clouds, and liquid gold, and — ” 

“A rainbow,” suggested Captain Bloxsum, with a 
comical grimace, “ a rainbow,” he added, “ in the 
morning is the sailor’s warning.” 

Annah heard in the distance several peals of 
thunder. A colored girl, the daughter of one of the 
slaves of Annah’s grandfather, had embarked at the 
same time as Mrs. Morgan, and now came toward 
her, saying, respectfully : 

‘‘ I ’member you now. Miss Annah. Oh ! how you 
am altered. I no rec’lec you at fust. Oh 1 how I 
prayed dat God would bring you out ob de lion’s 
den, like He did Massa Daniel.” 

The recognition of any kind spirit, no matter in 
what position of life, is always gratifying to one who 
has tried the good and evil amongst mankind. Vi- 
cissitudes teach us a useful lesson, to appreciate our 


GALE-DBIVEK 


311 


fellow-creatures for their natural worth, only with- 
out respect to any acquired qualification, and Annah 
had had so much sorrow that she could fully appre- 
ciate kindness, no matter from what source it came. 

The thunder rolled immediately over their heads ; 
the entire circle of the horizon blazed with steel- 
blue gleams, and the firmament became enshrouded 
with somber clouds. It was evident that a storm 
was brewing, and, ere long, it burst with full fury 
over the Cropper. 

With commendable prudence, the skipper had 
caused all the light sails to be snugly stowed, and 
the vessel was dodging along under a close-reefed 
main-sail and storm-jib, when a sudden gust of ter- 
rific violence tore the latter sail from its bolt-ropes 
and it was borne down to leeward upon the wild 
wings of the whistling wind. While the crew were 
busily employed hoisting the reefed fore-sail, in place 
of the lost jib, another squall broke with such force 
over the staggering craft that it threw her upon her 
beam-ends, and there she lay a log, with the foaming 
billows making a clean breach over her. 

Mrs. Morgan was standing at the after door of the 
main cabin. Suddenly a huge wave burst over the 
quarter and threw the captain, who was at the 
helm, over the wheel, hurting him considerably. 
Annah saw the danger to which the vessel was ex- 


312 


THE GOLDEN LADDER 


posed, and, without hesitancy, she sprang to the 
wheel and put the helm a-starboard, thereby, in all 
probability, saving the storm-tossed schooner from 
destruction. 

The gale gradually subsided, and Mrs. Morgan 
then had an opportunity of remeditating upon the 
various phases of human nature as portrayed by 
the unsophisticated groups on board; the terror- 
stricken passengers, whose anguish was augmented 
by the sad contrast between home comforts and 
troubles at* sea, and the philosophical indifference 
of the hardy tars. Nor was the sublime majesty of 
the captain least conspicuous. His firmness and en- 
durance, his fraternal attention to every one in turn, 
his sublime expression of countenance when admon- 
ishing a feeble-minded fellow-creature, were all 
beautiful traits of the superior spirit, so sweetly 
delineated in that charming ballad of The Pilot, 
whose burden is : 

“ Fear not, but trust in Providence, 

Wherever thou may’st be.” 

There is more pure religion among seamen than 
many people suppose. Among those brawny sons 
of Neptune are specimens of men upright as God 
intended them to be, and who in the moment of im- 
minent peril confide in the protection of their Creator. 


GALE-DRIYEN. 


313 


" The greatest danger is over, I trust,” murmured 
Annah, offering up a secret orison. 

We are never really in danger at any time,” the 
master replied with a smile, while the Great Cap- 
tain is aloft to answer our signals of distress. I 
have been weather-beaten from boyhood, but never 
struck my colors. I always feel able to walk upon 
the stormy waves, for the holy hand of Jesus, 
stretched forth from the black cloud, is ever nigh 
to bear me up, when all human help has proved 
utterly vain.” 

“ Ah !” said Annah, “ I have experienced the 
same Divine aid during the stormy days of afflic- 
tion on shore.” 

“ You have indeed, my dear lady,” answered Cap- 
tain Bloxsum, and nobly have you braved the fierce 
blast of tribulation. I should like to see your late 
governor in a stiff gale. Such men as Morgan 
make but chicken-hearted heroes. I guess he 
would soon give up the ship.” 

He has, at any rate been under the necessity of 
resigning command of the ‘ weaker vessel^ ” replied 
Annah, referring to the divorce. 

“ The ‘ weaker vessel ?’ ” repeated the skipper. 

A genuine strong-minded woman, you mean. I 
watched you when the winds were blowing great 
guns, and the hurricane-spirit laid me on my beam- 
14 


314 


THE GOLDEN LADDER. 


ends. How and where did you learn seaman- 
ship r 

“ I acted upon the impulse of the moment,” said 
Mrs. Morgan ; “ I knew that some one should be at 
the wheel, and I prayed the Deity to direct me.” 

“Aye, aye, JMadam, without His direction the 
skill of the navigator would be useless,” cried Blox- 
sum. “Well, I do admire a woman of spirit, whose 
faith is unwavering. As the lightning shone upon 
your beautiful but emaciated features — I am no 
flatterer, my dear Madam — I felt an inclination to 
worship the divine genius that gave you a degree 
of animation and imperial grace, revealed only by 
such heroines as Joan of Arc, or Grace Darling, 
whose countenances were lit up with enthusiastic 
inspiration. 

“ Who has not heard of the Maid of Orleans, and 
the Darling of Scotland? she who, when no pilot 
would venture, forth, battled with the breakers, and 
preserved a ship’s whole crew, rowing them through 
a deluge to her father’s light-house. You would 
have done the same. This morning, when hardy 
mariners, with blanched cheeks, gazed despairingly 
around, as our schooner levelled herself with the 
ocean, your smile of resignation, and your super- 
natural heroism at that critical moment, renewed 
confidence and hope.” 


GALE-BRIVBN. 


315 


Bloxsiim having resigned, the wheel to the man 
whose trick at it it was, continued : 

Ah ! Mrs. Morgan, if you had only sooner 
slipped your cable from that rock of a husband, how 
much happier you would have been !” 

Were I so tall to reach the pole, 

Or clasp the ocean in a span, 

I would be measured by my soul. 

For that ’s the standard of a man 1” 

quoted Mrs. Morgan. 

Captain Bloxsum appeared to increase in stature. 
The gallant pigmy on tiptoe promenaded the quarter- 
deck until nightfall. The light-hearted crew were 
cheered with a calm sea and gladdening moon- 
beams. 

One youthful passenger betrayed a decided pen- 
chant toward Mrs. Morgan. The countenance of 
that boy was radiant with intelligence ; he had only 
been partly educated, yet he thirsted for the waters 
of life, welling up from the hidden springs of wis- 
dom. His superior spirit, like Moses, yearned to 
smite the rock of mental darkness, that streams of 
knowledge might flow forth. Poor Oscar’s ambition 
to become a learned man was unbounded ; at the 
same time, his natural suavity was peculiarly pleas- 
ing to lady passengers. But Mrs. Morgan engrossed 
the attention of the lad. He supplied her with 


316 


THE GOLDEN LADDER, 


choice oysters, and dished up dainty rations of ham 
and chicken. He seemed as great an adept in the 
culinary art as Soyer must have been at sixteen 
years of age. 

Kind attentions are always appreciated by the 
fair sex. Oscar’s amiable anxiety to anticipate 
the wishes of Annah created a sisterly affection in 
her warm heart. She was anxious to return the 
obligation with interest, by expatiating on geograph- 
ical and historical subjects, commanding breathless 
attention from her young disciple. At length she 
struck upon a holy chord, Tvhich responded like the 
.®olian harp of Memnon to Apollo’s beam. 

“ What do you imagine, Oscar, concerning that 
invisible power within your brain, which urges you 
to crave for angels’ food — true knowledge ?” 

This question of Annah’ s caused the youth to 
pause ; he then slowly replied : 

“ In the beginning the Almighty said, ‘ Let there 
he lights and there was light.’ Light which lighteth 
every man that cometh into the world ; a spark from 
the eternal Spirit ; a spark that gives sight, hearing, 
taste, feeling, and the faculty of enjoying the fra- 
grance of sweet flowers. A spark that gives perpet- 
ual motion to my heart, warmth to my blood, and 
motion to all this wonderful machinery constructed 
by God. Yet, beautiful and mysterious though it 


GALE-DRIVEK 


317 


bo, without that invisible spark the whole becomes 
sightless, unconscious of harmonious sounds or de- 
lightful perfumes. All, all is motionless, cold, dead. 
Death is when all thought becomes extinct.” 

“ Socrates himself had not a sublimer idea of the 
Immortality of the Soul than you possess,” said 
the enraptured listener. ‘‘ Cultivate your mind, my 
boy, and you will not fail to emerge from obscurity. 
Your living soul resembles a vine that has sprung 
up beneath a dark ruin ; its branches cannot be 
buried, they will rise and grow green and fruitful 
in the glory of the heaven’s sunshine. You were 
created to inherit light, for, like a burning-glass, the 
speculum of reason within you is filled with vital 
light.” 

An observer of human nature cannot fail of being 
convinced that metallic influence actually produces 
mental blindness. The uncle of Oscar was a wealthy 
planter, who had one son, the heir to a large fortune, 
whom he idolized, though the idiot was capable only 
of eating, drinking, sleeping, and rioting to excess. 

Oscar, in his childhood, had been the playmate 
of this cousin, or, rather, the humble companion, 
subservient to every capricious whim of his stolid 
patron, whose neglected library was Minerva’s Tem- 
ple of Eefuge to Oscar. An immortal and a mere 
mortal could not long agree. Independent in soul 


318 


THE GOLDEN LADDER. 


the poor relation preferred a subordinate position 
in life, among strangers, rather than longer partake 
of the poisoned luxuries of domineering aristocratic 
ignorami, whose wealth, ten-fold reduplicated, could 
never purchase Oscar’s intellectual treasure. 

During their voyage Mrs. Morgan assumed the 
character of Mentor to a new Telemachus. There 
is much vain boasting of civilization and enlighten- 
ment as the distinguishing characteristics of the 
nineteenth century, yet how seldom do we meet 
with people possessing superior minds. What crowds 
of long-eared nonentities, like Midas, usurp those 
positions intended solely for magii and virtuous be- 
ings. Dives’ native planet, doubtless, is the earth, 
and unpatronized genius and merit must patiently 
wait until they have ‘‘ shuffled off this mortal coil,” 
to enjoy with Lazarus the heritage of immortal- 
ity. 

The Crop'per crowded sail, and tacking about, 
soon made the Jersey coast. Annah was fascinated 
with a dreamy joy on first beholding the glorious 
panoramic view of lofty, verdant hills and varie- 
gated valleys, intersected with silvery, undulating 
rivers, the picturesque yellow villas, with slate or 
thatched roofs, breaking the monotony of the land- 
scape. On passing through the Narrows a most 
enchanting prospect greeted Annah’s sight. On the 


OALE-DBIVEN. 


319 


right hand, groves exhaled sweet perfumes, which 
light zephyrs bore on their wings across the sea ; 
above, the cerulean sky, flecked here and there with 
amber-tinted clouds, resembled a turquoise sea upon 
which gilt galleys sailed ; to the left, Sunny Staten 
Island,” clothed to its summit with bright verdure, 
gleamed like an emerald mount ; and Long Island, 
the garden of America, seemed to lay, a broad band 
of green, between the azure of the sea and sky. 

Annah knew that the skipper was fond of poetry, 
so she went into the cabin and composed the fol- 
lowing verses, with which the hearty old mariner 
expressed himself so delighted, that he declared his 
intention of having them framed and hung along- 
side his barometer. 

A STORM AT SEA, - 

Roll on, ye crested billows. 

Your waves are dashing high, 

But the Hand that made the ocean 
Can soon your foam allay. 

The sea it rages wildly, 

And the storm increases fast — 

The mariner he rashes 
From the deck high up the mast. 


The horizon is darkened, 
The i-ain begins to fall, 
The thunder rolls in heaven 
As on a mighty walL 


320 


THE GOLDEN LADDER. 


Tlie brave sliip reels and rocks, 

And dashes to and fro 
Upon the foaming billows, 

Which are as white as snow. 

The captain at the wheel. 

He bends his brawny arm 
To bear away the ship, 

And save her in the storm. 

The mariners rush forward, 

The chains they rattle loud. 

And the sails are quickly furl'd 
That reach toward the cloud. 

“ Hurrah, my boys !” the brave man cries, 

“ Or we will soon be toss'd 
Among the coral beds of the ,sea ; 

My brave crew will be lost." 

The sea-boys rush from stem to stem — 

Aloft they swiftly fly 
As the ocean bursts its crested foam 
Up toward the lurid sky. 

The deck is wet with briny spray. 

And her timbers bend and leap. 

And the proud ship swells as she bears away 
O’er the waves of the briny deep. 

Dark, deep, and boundless as thou art. 

The Hand that made can lull 
Each whirling billow as it foams 
And bursts upon the hull. 

For all at once the storm is o’er. 

The wind is lull’d to sleep. 

And the bright moon sheds her silvery rays 
O’er land and the foaming deep. 

The serene blue sky once more is calm. 

And the stai*s are shining bright ; 

All nature seems to speak the word 
That all God does is right. 


OALE-DRIVSN. 


321 


The ship once more unfurls her sails, 

And the top-sail flies in the breeze, 

And the yessel glides o’er the bounding waves, 

And ’tis to home, sweet home she flees. 

The noble ship sails swiftly o’er 
The ocean’s foaming tide, 

And soon the brave craft anchors close 
Down by the river’s side. 

Captain Bloxsum accompanied Mrs. Morgan to 
the residence of a merchant, to whom she presented 
a letter of introduction from Andrew Foy. The 
commission merchant, having perused the epistle, 
was nervously assiduous in providing for the com- 
forts of his fair visitor. 

Oscar threw off his traveling-garb, and gained 
Annah’s permission to accompany her to the various 
bazaars and institutions. The magnificence of the 
worthy merchant could not have been exceeded by 
an Asiatic potentate. His gorgeous palatial edifice 
on the Fifth Avenue bespoke the liberal spirit and 
refined taste of its occupant. 

After remaining a few weeks in New York, Annah 
returned to Virginia, via Baltimore, and impatiently 
awaited the time when the judicial fiat would an- 
nounce her free from matrimonial thraldom. An- 
drew Foy, at his own expense, was prosecuting the 
matter : his chief desire was to see his step-sister 
freed from the tyrant who had made utterly wretched 
and miserable a life that ought to have been one of 
14 * 


322 


THE GOLDEN LADDER. 


peace and happiness. Little time had Andrew to 
attend to things connected with civil law, or family 
matters — a subaltern in the Confederate army who 
wished to win name and fame had sterner and 
more imperative duties to which to attend ; but he 
employed able members of the legal fraternity in 
Annah’s behalf, and generously placed his purse at 
her disposal. 

Oscar, the orphan boy, continued his studies, and 
the last Annah heard from him, he was getting 
along finely and would soon be a practitioner at the 
bar, and no doubt the youth continued to remember 
the admonitions and kind advice he received from 
Mrs. Morgan during his voyage to New York. 


CHAPTEK XXX. 


HOW THE LADDER WAS REARED. 



iE must now turn to one whose name we 
hope the reader has not forgotten, for he 
plays a most important part in the con- 
cluding chapters of this story. We refer to 
Adrian Castle, and as only cursory mention has been 
made of that amiable gentleman, perhaps we had 
better formally introduce him. 

Colonel Castle was by birth an Englishman, and 
one who had served with distinction in the British 
army. On his retirement from military service he 
emigrated to America, and purchased a plantation in 
Virginia which was in contiguity to Locust Grove, 
the residence of Fabian Foy. A friendship between 
the latter and the ex-colonel soon sprang into exist- 
ence, and the bond of unity was tightened by reason 
of them both belonging to that grand old craft the 
Masonic brotherhood. Adrian \vas a boy only six 
years of age when his father came to this country, 
and when he and Annah Foy first met they became 
fond of each other. Annah was three years old at 
this time. She was a pretty little blue-eyed girl, 


324 


THE GOLDEN LADDEB. 


with golden curls, dimpled chin, and rosy cheeks; 
she was happy and as playful as her tamed gazelle. 
These children grew up together, and as the families 
were on the most intimate terms, Annah and Adrian 
were playmates during infancy ; and the period in 
which they were passing to the next stage in the 
drama of life, friendship ripened into love. Colonel 
Castle, like most old military men, had a decided 
penchant toward the army. He was an aristocrat, 
and being well aware how a young man gains re- 
fined feelings and tastes by being placed in an 
authoritative position, he determined to make use of 
the influence he possessed in order to obtain for his 
son an ensigncy in the British army. Colonel Castle 
was not rich, but in goo^d circumstances, as the Vir- 
ginians say. Adrian, who had inherited his father’s 
proclivities, when he arrived at the age of seventeen, 
and his parent first broached the subject to him, 
readily acceded to his proposition that he should 
join an English regiment ; but he did not consider at 
the moment he gave his consent how great an effort 
it would cost him to tear himself away from the girl 
he so fondly loved ; nor did he for a moment con- 
ceive that he was sowing seeds from which his dar- 
ling would reap a harvest of misery in the future. 
It was pardonable, after all, this fit of boyish enthu- 
siasm for the profession of arms. How many older 


HOW THE LADDER WAS REARED. 


325 


and more experienced in the ways of the world than 
he was, have become fascinated by the glare and 
panoply displayed by a regiment marching on to 
strife, and, forgetful of home joys, loves, and associ- 
ations, have thrown themselves recklessly in the 
van ? *B[e did not think of Annah when he, to his 
father’s extreme gratification, so promptly declared 
that he longed for “ the tented field had he done 
so, he would probably have hesitated ; but, his word 
being given, his decision registered, nothing could 
have power to induce him to retreat, to declare him- 
self a votary to women’s smiles rather than an 
aspirant to glory. 

One sunny dawn the youthful adorers met near 
Drummond Town ; they met to separate, perchance, 
forever. 

“ Oh ! Annah,” murmured the ardent youth, “ I 
feel that when we meet again it will be in yon 
morning star that is fading from sight in a flood of 
gold. We have been very happy in the society of 
each other, darling, but you will think of me some- 
times, I, am sure; I am sure you will whenever you 
gaze upon this ring.” 

The faltering boy drew a signet on Annah’s 
finger, kissed it, and a tear sparkled upon the gem 
— that tear hallowed the maiden’s lips, as she 
sealed the pledge of affection. Years after, in her 


326 


THE OOLDEN LADDER. 


gloomy dungeon home, the dew-drop of love still 
seepaed there, mingling with the rain that trickled 
from her own dim eyes. 

“Adrian,” replied Annah, “I can never forget 
you. Something tells me that we shall meet again 
on earth. You will become a great general, crowned 
with glory ; and, when you return, a laurel- wreath, 
woven by Annah, shall deck your brow.” 

Annah presented her lover with a gage d'amour, 
formed of two ruby hearts, upon which their names 
were engraved. Adrian placed the precious gift 
within his bosom, near to his heart, then entwining 
his arms about Annah, he convulsively embraced 
her. Colonel Castle’s carriage was approaching. 
In tremulous accents the youth whispered : 

“ Correspond with me continuously, darling ; call 
me your star, and, as the mariner steers his course 
by some orb of night, so you keep me mentally in 
sight in all your wanderings. Pure love like ours 
will preserve us from evil. I shall address my 
letters to ‘ My Jewel,’ in remembrance of that talis- 
manic ring you have received from me. Adieu, my 
own beloved Annah.” 

A long, loving embrace ; two throbbing breasts 
close-pressed ; two pair of thirsty lips glued to- 
gether in one warm, long-drawn, but holy kiss ; two 
deep sobs from two pulsing hearts ; then a shower 


HOW THE LADDER WAS REARED. . 327 

of pearly tears dripped and dropped scintillant from 
the dew-dimmed eyes of a girl, fair as the ideal 
angel of a poet’s dream, as pleasure gave place to 
pain, and the separation of Adrian from Annah was 
reluctantly consummated. 

A few days subsequently Colonel Castle and 
Adrian were pacing the poop of a stately Atlantic 
packet-ship, as, with white sails spread to woo the 
western wind, she gayly bounded over the foam- 
crested, emerald waves, on her passage toward the 
“ tight little island” that has held, still holds, in- 
deed, a foremost place among nations, and to which 
this country — though her sons seem to forget it, 
now that they have so effectually severed the ma- 
ternal apron-strings — still owes a debt of gratitude 
for having given it life and nourishment in its infan- 
tile years. 

The prestige which Colonel Castle had gained 
while in the British army, and the high esteem in 
which he was held by those in military authority, 
rendered the object of his visit one of easy attain- 
ment, and, within a month of Adrian’s arrival in 
.England, he was gazetted to an ensigncy in a regi- 
ment then under orders to proceed to India. The 
Himalaya carried the — th, Adrian’s regiment, 
through the Straits of Gibraltar, and up the lovely 
Mediterranean, and after crossing the Isthmus of 


328 


THE GOLDEN LADDER. 


Suez, he re-embarked on board a P. and O. steamer, 
that, in the space of a fortnight, landed himself and 
comrades at Bombay. 

To follow the career of the brave boy exactly 
would be, we opine, to test beyond its utmost limits 
the patience of our readers ; therefore, we shall 
merely submit for perusal the first letter that Adrian 
received from Annah subsequent to his arrival upon 
“ India’s coral strand but still, in justice to him, 
we must not omit to state that he won not only 
golden opinions from his superiors, on account of 
the valor he displayed on several different occasions, 
but became a universal favorite with all those with 
whom he came in contact, by reason of his urbanity, 
sagacity, inherent bravery, and the gentleness of his 
disposition. 


“ Accomac, Yibginia, U. S. A. 

“ Star of my Soul, — I wander alone, now that you 
are gone, dear Adrian ; but the pleasure of knowing 
that you will welcome this letter with your lips will 
cheer me until I can reciprocate by enjoying the same 
dalliance. Oh ! there is a sacred, modest, guileless 
kiss. What ecstatic delight the remembrance of 
one inspires. My soul thrills with rapture while 
musing on my Adrian. Closing my eyes, I feel as 
if our spirits were embracing ; spiritually we cannot 


HOW THE LADDER WAS REARED. 


329 


be separated. In the visions of the night we roam 
together. I judge of your fidelity by my own. 
Although a disconsolate feeling may sometimes 
oppress the bosom of Annah, yet the star still 
irradiates the jewel. Like the poor Laplander who 
beholds the sun sink down beneath the horizon, and 
solaces his mind through a long season with the 
hope of seeing the solar orb re-emerge from a frozen 
sea, so I derive consolation from the reflection that 
my star will yet shine in Virginia. My father is 
dead, and I am living with my Aunt Betsie. I am 
not happy. She wishes me to marry Marcellus 
Morgan, and I will not do it willingly. 

“ Hopeful anticipations gladden my imagination, 
even as the aurora borealis illumines a sunless firma- 
ment. May Annah’s guardian angel combine with 
thine to shield thee on the battle-field, and restore 
thee to her who loves thee dearer than life. 

“Anxiously awaiting a reply, I remain, Star of 
my Soul, thine own unblemished Jewel, 

“Annah Foy. 

'^Postscript, 

“ TO ADRIAN. 

“ When, a year ago, we parted, 

My eyes streamed tears like rain, 

For thy beaming smile and loving eyes 
I may never see again. 


330 


THE GOLDEN LADDER 


**■ Another may have won that smile, 

And caused thine eye, so bright, 

To sparkle with love’s -hallowed flame 
As she draws near thy sight. 

But oh, when night’s dark mantle comes, 

And the sun has withdrawn his light. 

And the pale moon shines in her lofty dome, 

While the stars are twinkling bright, 

“ Thy face in visions oft appears ; 

In hours when I’m alone, 

. I feel thy tender, gentle hand. 

Is pressing on my own. 

“ I hear thy voice, so silvery sweet, 

I feel thy charming kiss. 

And start and wonder if ’tis a dream 
Or am I in a world of bliss ! 

" ’Tis then my heart throbs loud with joy, 

^ And a spirit voice I hear ; 

It whispers, ‘ Let not thine eyes be dim. 

Thy Adrian ’s ever near.’ ” 

To this love-breathing epistle Adrian replied 
thus : 

“ Delhi. 

“My own precious Jewel, — I fear, dear love, that 
you must think I have grown strangely remiss, or 
else utterly forgotten any allegiance to you, on 
account of my not having written to you since my 
arrival in this country. But I have many pleas to 
advance in extenuation of my seeming negligence. 
On the very same day that we landed from the 


HOW THE LADDER WAS REARED. 


331 


steamer that conveyed us from Aden to Bombay, we 
were dispatched ‘ up country,’ and, since that time, 
I have scarcely had a moment to call my own until 
now. I have seen much that was utterly strange to 
me since my arrival in this country. I have passed 
through scenes which, in horror, would far eclipse the 
most frenzied fancies of a maniac. I have seen blood 
pour forth like water, and trickle in crimson rivulets 
through the streets ; I have heard the piteous waif 
of strong men, who writhed and twisted in the last 
agonies of death ; I have seen fierce, greedy flames, 
leap and twine about ruins wherein my fellow- 
creatures were immured ; and I have suffered priva- 
tions and encountered dangers which, a few months 
back, I should have considered myself totally unable 
to contend against. But, amid all the terrors of a 
protracted siege ; on the battle-field ; on the long, 
toilsome march under a broiling sun ; over open 
plains or through deep jungles, where lurked the tiger 
and serpent, and amid almost impenetrable fast- 
nesses, into whose valleys the enemy hurled ponder- 
ous masses of rock from above, I have never, even 
for an instant, forgotten thee. You have been, still 
are, I trust, my guardian angel. Like a beacon to 
the storm-tossed mariner is the knowledge of your 
love for me ; it beckons me on, and gives me hope 
and comfort, enabling me, by its invigorating influ- 
ence, to ‘ suffer and be strong.* 


332 


THE QOLBEN LADDER 


“ Ah ! Annah, my own bright, blue-eyed darling, 
what would I not give now to be permitted to clasp 
you in my arms for one brief moment, to kiss your 
coral lips, and feel your warm breath upon my cheek 
as I listened to the sweet cadence of your silvery 
voice and drank eagerly with my thirsty ears the 
heart-felt, loving words that it would pour therein. 

“ This is a magnificent country, my jewel. Nature 
has been lavish in endowing it, but yet it seems to 
me a desert, for Annah is not here. 

“Men say I have been brave, credit me with 
doughty deeds, and praise me exceedingly. This 
adulation is naturally pleasing, but I would dispense 
with it all, aye, more, I would almost consent to be 
stigmatized as craven, if for such concession I might 
be permitted to clasp your dear form to my breast 
and feel our hearts pulsate once more in unison. 

“ I was, indeed, very much grieved to hear of the 
death of my amiable friend, your father, and I most 
sincerely condole with you in your affliction. It is 
a terrible bereavement, dear Annah, for one so 
young as you are to sustain ; it is sad to know that 
he whom you loved and venerated has passed for- 
ever from earth ; but even in our deepest affliction, 
God finds some solace to instill into the mourner’s 
heart, and, when you consider the numerous good 
deeds your estimable father performed while in this 


BOW THE LADDER WAS REARED. 


333 


world, no doubt as to his welfare in the spirit-land 
beyond the skies can agitate your mind. He is at 
peace now, sweet one, at rest in that glorious king- 
dom which is reserved for those whose attributes 
and conduct here below entitles them to a place 
therein. 

“ It is, I consider, shamefully wicked for your 
psuedo-friends to wish you to unite yourself in wed- 
lock to Marcellus Morgan, and your Aunt .Betsie’s 
creed, ‘ marry for wealth and position,’ has wrecked 
more lives and been the cause of more misery than 
could be accurately estimated. I need not impress 
this upon you, for I know your own good sense will 
tell you that what I state is perfectly correct. I need 
not bid you be true to me, darling, for I know that 
while I am steadfast in my love for you my affection 
will be reciprocated. Wherever I may be, dear 
love, in spirit will you be also. I can never forget, 
never, even in my dreams, lose sight of the jewel 
that, like a guiding star, has lighted my path so far 
through the tortuous and intricate mazes of life, 
and which will in the future lead me to the haven of 
rest which I shall find on the bosom of my blushing 
bride. 

“ In heart and soul, here on earth, or in the spirit- 
world, Your lover, 

“Adrian Castle.” 


834 


TEE GOLDEN LADDER 


This letter arrived at Accomac during Ann ah’s 
absence, she being upon a visit to her friend Julia 
Morrison. Aunt Betsie placed the letter upon the 
mantel-piece, and, when Morgan called, he exhibited 
his usual curiosity by examining the superscription 
it bore. 

“From India, eh? Then she corresponds with 
that idiotic youngster, Adrian Castle?” he said. 

“ I presume so ; but I think she is very silly to do 
so, for the chances are that he will never return to 
fulfill his boyish promises. The loves of children 
are very evanescent, Marcellus, and I think that 
you will not have much difficulty in weaning away 
her affections from young Castle,” replied the old 
woman, who, with her accustomed reverence for 
the “ Almighty Dollar,” wished her niece to sacrifice 
herself upon the matrimonial altar, to endanger her 
pure soul by essaying the perilous ascent of the 
Golden Ladder. 

“I am going over to see Annah to-day; shall I 
carry this letter to her? ^he will, doubtless, be glad 
to hear of the welfare of the half-bred Britisher who 
is her correspondent,” said Morgan, with his hateful 
sneer. 

“By all means, Marcellus. I suppose I should 
not be justified in withholding the epistle from lier, 
or, I confess, I should feel great satisfaction in 


sow THE LADDER WAS REARED. S35 

burning it before slie could peruse the soft nonsense 
it is sure to contain,” answered the worldly-minded, 
avaricious old woman. 

Morgan left the house rejoicing. The enemy’s 
dispatches had fallen into his hands, and he was 
determined to turn this stroke of luck to good 
account. He took the letter to his own house, and, 
though his evil-looking face was rendered more 
hideous than ever by an angry frown while he was 
engaged in its perusal, his eyes sparkled with joy 
when, after a moment’s consideration, a bright idea 
dawned upon him. So thoroughly an unscrupulous 
man as Morgan was not likely to long hesitate ere 
he put this suddenly-conceived plan to euchre his 
opponent into execution. A few hours’ practice en- 
abled him — like a mischievous ape, he was an apt 
imitator — to copy Adrian’s caligraphy so nearly that 
an expert would have had no little difficulty in 
detecting the difference between the two hand- 
writings. He then carefully penned the following 
letter, forged Adrian’s signature, and, enclosing it 
in the envelope which had contained the original 
epistle, he resealed it and delivered it to Annah. 

“Anywhere, Hindustan. 

“ Jewel of my Soul, — Thus in my days of romance 
I would have addressed you, Annah ; but eastern 


336 


Tm GOWm LADDER 


pomp, and the luxuriant pleasures of the Orient have 
transformed a mere romantic simpleton into another 
sort of being, and Asiatic beauties are so fascinating 
that all of my former puerile ideas of loneliness have 
vanished like the mirage of the desert. I revel now 
with houris of Paradise, and would rather be cap- 
tured by Sepoys than return to the cold, insipid 
realms of Europe or America. The dusky nymphs 
of my harem would compel the belles of Virginia 
to ‘hide their diminished heads,’ — you among the 
number. So, my dear girl, as a friend, I advise you 
to emancipate yourself from the enchanted bondage 
of delusion. Consider me as dead, slaughtered in 
battle, if you please ; nay, ‘ cut up into little stars,’ 
as the woman says in Sir Plagiary’s Spectacle of the 
Spanish Armada, ‘that you might put into your 
pocket.’ 

“ I write in an off-hand manner to show you how 
easy it is to divest one’s self of namby-pamby senti- 
mentality, and all that sort o’ thing. I now care no 
more for love-tokens than I do for the Natural Bridge 
in Virginia. Your amulet, by the by, I gave to a 
baby to play with, while an elephant was fanning it 
with a palm-branch to keep off the flies. Elephants 
make better nurses than half of the mothers in 
America. Ah! but one must come to the East 
Indies to see the elephant ! I am now going to per- 


mw THE LADDER WAS REARED. 337 

form in the private theatre of the officers, in the 
character of ‘ Wild-love,’ in the Day after the Fair^ 
which, as far as I am concerned, is exceedingly 
apropos. Do you take the allusion ? 

“ You perceive, Annah Foy, that I am very blunt, 
although ‘ as keen and polished as my sword,’ as Sir 
Lucius O’Trigger says. I would fain, like a skillful 
surgeon, ‘ cut beyond the wound’ to make the cure 
complete. 

So, Annah, I remain, no longer a wandering star, 
but plain 

“Adrian Castle.” 

“ P.S. — I do not send you my address, because I 
object to receiving abusive replies to my letters.” 

This daring counterfeit had the desired effect, 
though Morgan did not dare remain to witness the 
success of his scheme. He would have liked to have 
done so, but he feared that the girl might accuse him 
of malfeasance, and he knew that his wicked eyes 
would droop, his coward spirit quail, and his guilty 
countenance betray him if she should openly im- 
peach him ; therefore directly after he handed her the 
letter he quitted the apartment. Had he remained, 
had he witnessed the silent agony that convulsed his 
victim when she read that her lover was false, even 
his wicked, stony heart would have ached with pity 
15 


338 


THE GOLDEN LADDER. 


for her. For some moments she did not shed one 
tear nor utter one single word ; she sat like one dazed, 
her eyes, glassy and dim, fixed with a vacant stare 
upon the lying letter in her tight-clinched hand. 
Then from her bosom burst a bitter cry, the dread 
wail of a woman’s misery, the floodgates of her 
heart sprang open, and, as the mountain torrent 
sweeps along with its mighty force all obstacles that 
lie across its path, so the swift current of her grief 
surged on, saving her reason, but shattering her 
heart, wrecking it upon the jagged, cruel rocks of 
unrequited love. In her simplicity, in her guileless 
innocence, the poor girl had chosen an idol before 
which to bow down and pour out her soul. She had 
placed fanatical faith in it, worshiping and praying 
to it, confidently believing in its supremacy and 
power. Now the veil which had hitherto half-hidden 
it parted, and disclosed a vile^nd loathsome thing 
in all its naked hideousness. What wonder then 
that the unfortunate girl should be broken in 
spirit, careless of what the future should bring forth ? 
Like a reckless gamester she had hazarded her all, 
her happiness, upon one single chance. Fate was un- 
propitious and misery was to be her future portion. 
For a little while subsequent to the receipt of the 
forged letter, Annah was seriously ill ; but she pos- 
sessed a good constitution,, and wrestled so bravely 


HOW THE LADDER WAS REARED. 339 

with the sorrow that had come upon her and 
shadowed her young life, that soon the bloom re- 
turned to her fair cheek, though there was a pensive 
sadness in her countenance that none could fail to 
observe. Thoroughly careless as to the future, now 
that he, whom she had so fondly loved, was false to 
her, urged partly, perhaps, by a desire of retaliation, 
she did not strenuously oppose \llying herself to 
Marcellus Morgan, in whose interest Aunt Betsie, 
whose mercenary nature only permitted her to con- 
sider the desirability of the union from a monetary 
point of view, worked most assiduously. We have 
followed the career of poor Annah so closely since 
the fatal day of her marriage that* it is needless for 
us to further remark upon the result of the alliance 
she contracted with the heartless wretch who had 
wrecked her life by fraud, the hideous satyr, Morgan. 


CHAPTER XXXI. 


PBEPABING FOB COMBAT. 



^ DEI AN CASTLE was in India at the 
period the Sepoy soldiers chose for revolt- 
ing. Through the whole of the terrible 
struggle that ensued he passed, fighting in 
many bloody battles, suffering many privations, and 
. being several times slightly wounded ; but his heroic 
spirit sustained him in every hour of danger and 
difficulty, and the gallant deeds which he performed, 
and the prowess he exhibited while lending his aid 
to quell the mutiny, are still fresh in the minds of 
hundreds of those who shared his peril, and whose 
names, with his, are enrollecL upon the scroll of 
fame, to be revered by posterity. 

It is probable that, when peace was restored, 
Adrian would have taken advantage of an offer of 
leave of absence in order to visit his native land ; 
but he heard of Annah’s marriage, and the news had 
such an effect upon him that he absolutely disliked 
to hear America spoken of, and whenever the west- 
ern continent was being discussed during his pres- 
ence at the mess-table, a dark cloud would mantle 


PBEPABim FOR COMBAT. 


341 


his brow, and his appetite for even the most delicate 
viands would fail him utterly. Had he not been a 
strong-willed man, he would have probably followed 
the example of so many army-men upon whom 
trouble has fallen, and sought relief in that soul- 
destroying, insidious, pseudo-comforter, “ the juice 
of the grape,” upon which so many praises have 
been bestowed by poets prone to print dithyrambics. 
But Adrian possessed moral as well as physical 
courage, and he bore up bravely under the- terrible 
weight of woe that had fallen upon him. He knew 
that the bottle would only give him evanescent 
solace, and would entail still further misery, per- 
haps disgrace, upon him in the future ; therefore 
his face wore a smile though his heart was sad, and, 
like the Spartan boy who concealed a stolen fox in 
his bosom, he simulated pleasure and light-hearted- 
ness though his sufferings were intense. 

As time wore on, so did his sorrow gradually 
lessen as he became resigned to force of circum- 
stances ; but still no thought of ever returning to 
the land of his nativity did he ever for one moment 
entertain until the news of the rebellion in America 
broke like a thunder-peal upon the world, and so- 
ciety in general — peer and peasant, seer and sage — 
became agitated and engrossed by the dark war- 
cloud that overshadowed the vast continent over 


342 


THE GOLDEN LADDER. 


which the ‘‘ star-spangled banner” had floated in 
unsullied purity, pregnant pride, and brilliant beauty 
ever since it threw off the yoke of the oppressor 
and proudly proclaimed itself a righteous Kepublic. 
Then, waiving all ulterior considerations, willingly 
resigning the high position his daring achievements 
had won for him, he quitted Her British Majesty’s 
service, of which he was a lustrous ornament, and 
left the sunny Ind, with all its pomp and gorgeous- 
ness, its luxury and its lassitude, in order to enlist 
in the army his native State, “ the Old Dominion,” 
was sending to the field — to cast his abilities, en- 
ergy, and experience into the scale that was to mete 
out justice, to decide between right and wrong by 
wager of war. * 

Though, as we have said. Colonel Castle, senior, 
was an Englishman, Adrian had been reared in Vir- 
ginia, and, therefore, he considered it incumbent 
upon him to link his fortunes to the Southern cause. 
We do not, by any means, wish it to appear, from 
our hero’s siding with them, that we were in sym- 
pathy with the secessionists during the dreadful 
struggle that convulsed the land of our birth ; 
though we did not care to run unnecessary risk 
by expressing our views, our prayers were for the 
preservation of the Union. Kebellion at any time is 
hateful, but it becomes absolutely detestable when it 


PBEPAEim FOE COMBAT. 


343 


advocates oppression. Many, let us in charity trust 
most, of those possessing erudition and abilities of 
no common order, who boldly declared themselves 
in favor of the Southern cause, were misled by a 
natural enthusiastic feeling, consequent upon the 
knowledge that their inherited institution, slavery, 
was to be demolished and their ‘‘rights” invaded, 
themselves coerced into meek submission, by the 
long-winded, “ cute,” and thoroughly unscrupulous 
“ Yankees,” who, with hypocritical snarl, hurled such 
fierce invective and denunciation into their midst. 
To fight for “party” is one thing, to combat for 
country is another. 

In extenuation of the course the denizens of the 
Southern States pursued, we declare it to be our 
firm conviction that “ stump oratory” and the detest- 
able habit the New Englander possesses of boast- 
ing himself above his fellows, did more to foster and 
give birth to the revolution which deluged our fair 
country in blood, laid waste her fields, sent thousands 
of brave hearts to the glory of the grave, and tempo- 
rarily enfeebled her position among nations, than 
any absolute desire to keep in bondage, in trammels, 
and in life-long servitude those upon whose brows 
the curse Cain received when the world first was, 
has been indelibly printed. He is but a sorry seer 
who predicts past events — to use an obvious anach- 


344 


THE GOLDEN LADDEB. 


ronism ; and now that all strife has ceased, and erst- 
while foes are friends once more, it would be more 
than useless to enter upon a disputation as to the 
causes, merits, and results of the disastrous con- 
tention among kindred which the whole civilized 
world was glad to see brought to a termination. 

A great battle at Cedar Creek was about to be 
fought, and the very foundation of the Southern 
cause was trembling. The question, “ to be or not to 
be,” was to be answered. The Union was in the as- 
cendant, and if its armies could repulse the foe in a 
few more battles, the war would be brought to a 
grand finale, and the “ United” States become fully 
entitled to recognition as one of the greatest nations 
on the face of the globe. But Lee, Beauregard, 
Wise, and thousands of the bravest men who ever 
Avaved a sword or led an army to battle for an un- 
righteous cause, were still in existence, and it was 
with a heart full of^ope for the success of Southern 
arms that Adrain Castle linked his fortunes with 
the rebels, who, on account of the service he had 
seen abroad, at once assigned to him the rank of 
colonel. 

When he took command of his regiment his men 
welcomed him with loud cheers, for in him they 
recognized no effete leader, but a gallant soldier 
who had ‘‘seen service,” who had fought against, 


PBEPABim FOR COMBAT. 


345 


and aided to subdue, a fiendish and enormous mul- 
titude of the most subtle, blood-thirsty, and treach- 
erous wretches that ever encumbered God’s fair 
earth — the Sepoys of Hindostan. 

Adrian still retained Annah’s girlish picture, and 
though he, of course, knew that she must have 
changed materially, bloomed into maturity, he was 
fond of gazing upon the lineaments of the fair, 
youthful face, and thinking of past bright days, 
wdien he had reveled in the consciousness of her 
love. An active military life, and the experience he 
had gained by contact with the world, had dissi- 
pated most of the romantic fancies of youth ; but a 
few yet lingered, and in his heart he still cherished 
an affection for Annah, though he knew that she 
had broken the vows of fidelity she took when they 
parted long years before. So strong had been his 
love for her, so unbounded the estimation in which 
he held her, that, even after the tidings of her 
marriage reached him, he could not shut out from 
his heart his passion for her ; and seldom, through 
all the long years that elapsed ere he returned to 
America, did a day pass without his mind reverting 
to the sweet, blue-eyed girl who had clung to his 
bosom, ere he left the home of his childhood and 
girded up his loins to fight Britannia’s battles in 
the Eastern world. 


15 * 


346 


TEE GOLDEN LADDER. 


At the period of which we are about to speak 
Adrian’s regiment was encamped in the vicinity of 
the Shenandoah. Early was the general in com- 
mand of the Southern forces, and Sheridan was the 
able leader of the Union troops. The latter, think- 
ing that his opponents would not venture to remove 
from the position they held after having sustained 
such recent disastrous defeats, proceeded to Wash- 
ington upon business. Early became aware of the 
absence of his astute and intrepid foe, and at once 
determined to endeavor to outwit “ Little Phil” by 
a skillful maneuver. Adrian, when he first received 
an intimation that an action between the two 
opposing forces was inevitable, feeling that dread 
uncertainty which must always fill the heart of one 
about to engage in a hazardous enterprise, knowing 
not how soon death may come, wrote the following 
epistle, which he wrapped around Annah’s likeness 
and enclosed in an envelope, addressed to her, that 
he carefully stowed away in the breast-pocket of 
his tunic : 

“The Yale of the Shenandoah. 

“ Annah, — It is very probable that long ere this 
you have forgotten that I ever existed, but I cannot 
forget you, though I have oftentimes tried to do so. 
Had I been able to shut out all recollection of you 
from my mind, I might have been happier in the 


PBEPABim FOR COMBAT. 


347 


past ; had I never known you, my life would not 
have been a cheerless blank ; but it was decreed by 
One whose will none can dispute that we should do 
so, and the result has been everlasting misery to 
me. I have but little time to write, for we are on 
the eve of battle, therefore I must be concise and 
brief. I feel a presentiment that I shall not survive 
the conflict which is about to ensue, or I should not 
risk the probability of offending you by recurring 
to times and scenes long past and gone. 

“Ann ah, dear Annah— yes, I must so address you, 
even though you are lost to me forever — I gave 
you mj love in the olden time, and your reason for 
forsaking me I have never been able to ascertain, or 
even guess at. Were you merely trifling with me ? 
No ! I am sure I held a place in your affections, for 
one who glanced as I did into your eyes and read in 
their blue depths innocence and purity of soul, 
could never for a moment believe that you were 
capable of practising glowing deceit, or wrecking a 
man’s life to please a foolish whim. Why did you 
break your plighted troth to me? Why, so soon 
after our parting, did your love for me wane and 
fade so utterly from your heart as to induce you to 
link your life with that of one other than myself ? 
This is a question I have often asked myself, but 
never yet have I been able to solve the enigma. I 


348 


THE GOLDEN LADDER. 


gave you an honest love, Annah, a love that was 
steadfast and true, as the mere fact of my now 
writing to you will indicate. God only knows the 
full extent of my suffering since the time when I 
received the first intimation of your having mar- 
ried Marcellus Morgan. Forgetting, for awhile, the 
terrible agony that racked me, when I thoroughly 
realized that you were lost to me forever, I mourned 
for you in sadness and in deep lamentation, knowing 
full well that the step you had taken was a false 
one, never to be regained ; that would entail upon 
you misery and affliction in the future — misery and 
woe it would not be in my power to avert, for from 
henceforth I was to be as a stranger unto you. I 
was not surprised, therefore, when, on my return to 
America, I heard that you were unhappy; I was 
not astonished, for I knew your husband to be little 
better than a brute ; but my heart ached with pity 
for you — you from-whose lips I had once culled the 
sweet delights of immaculate love, you for whom I 
have ever cherished the tenderest affection. 

“ If you ever receive this letter it will only be when 
I am numbered with the dead ; under no other cir- 
cumstances would I have written it, would not have 
laid bare the heart you tortured in the past. Well ! 
let the dead past rest ! He who orders all things 
deemed it best that ours should be diverse pathways 


PREPABING FOR COMBAT. 


349 


through the labyrinth of life, and we must not 
exclaim against his ordinations. I am going forth 
to the strife, to battle, perhaps to death ; my last 
prayer will ever be that the sable cloud, which has 
of late years overshadowed thy young life, will burst 
in twain, and the bright glory that it reveals will 
bring with it peace and tranquillity that will last 
through your declining years, and until we meet in 
that fair land beyond the azure empyrean, where all 
souls unite, and the world-weary are at rest. 

“ In death, as in life, 

“Yours faithfully. 


“ Adrian.” 


CHAPTER XXXII. 


BOWED DOWN. 



S we have said, General Early, on hearing 
of Sheridan’s absence, determined to sur- 
prise the Union army. He strengthened 
and thoroughly organized his forces in his 
forest-screened camp near Fisher’s Hill, then he 
moved out at nightfall, October 18th, 1864, with the 
intention of flanking the Union position by cross- 
ing Cedar Creek. Leaving the turnpike road, the 
rebel army moved over rugged paths along the 
mountain side, which, in many places, was so steep 
as to necessitate the men holding on by bushes and 
tufts of grass, and forded the ^north-fork of the 
Shenandoah — the second time in the very face of 
the enemy’s pickets. Maintaining the most perfect 
order and the strictest silence, the divisions of Gor- 
don, Ramseur — under whom Adrain held his com- 
mand, and Pegram stole by on the left of the Union 
army ; those of Kershaw and Wharton simultane- 
ously flanking the left. An hour before dawn the 
rebel regiments arrived at the positions assigned 
to them, waited until day glimmered in the east, 
then fired a volley, and with a hoarse, wild yell, 


BOWED BOWK 


351 


their battle-cry, charged furiously down upon their 
astonished foes. Taken completely by surprise, 
thrown into inextricable confusion by the sudden- 
ness of the attack, overpowered by the violence with 
which the enemy assailed them, after fifteen minutes’ 
attempted resistance* during which one battalion of 
the picket-line lost one hundred killed and seven times 
that number wounded, the army of West Virginia be- 
came converted into a flying mob. The rebels, know- 
ing well every foot of the ground, followed. Emory 
rallied his men and tried to stop them, but with no 
chance of success. Assailed on both flanks and in 
the rear by an overwhelming power, the Union 
forces had to evacuate their position, with a loss of 
twenty-four guns, camps, defences, equipages, and 
twelve hundred brave fellows numbered among the 
killed and wounded. 

Hurried as the conflict was, conclusive as, at this 
stage of the proceedings, it appeared to be, it only 
illustrates the truth of the time-honored aphorism 
which prophetically warns the impulsive not to 
“ holler before they’re out of the wood.” The rebels, 
in the full flush of victory, rejoiced ; the tide of glory 
and enthusiasm ran' high, and none thought, none 
dreamed, of its suddenly ebbing and bearing away 
the laurels gained, to float lorn waifs upon the dark 
angry waves of the critical sea of contemporary 


352 


THE GOLDEN LADDER 


nations. Sheridan, who, on the morning of the 19th 
of October, was on his way from Washington to the 
Shenandoah Yalley, scented powder, as scents the 
vulture the corse of one newly slain. With that 
keen instinct that has been since time immemorial 
the heritage of all famous military leaders, “ Little 
Phil ” knew that something must have gone wrong ; 
so he hurried onw^ard. The flying columns of his 
army toM him the tale long ere he reached them. 
As his panting charger, with foamy, heaving, blood- 
didpping flanks bore him into their midst, he rose 
in his stirrups. 

‘‘ My lads, you are taking the wrong path. Tour 
road lies in the opposite direction. We’ll lick the 
rebels out of their boots, boys ! If I had been here 
this would not have happened,” he cried, as he rode 
along. 

Then . the Unionists, recognizing their leader, 
knowing his ability, willing to rush headlong to 
death if their pet commander led them, replied with 
a cheer that ran along the valley and echoed among 
the hills, whose lengthening shadows poured upon 
the scene of carnage, victory, and defeat. 

It did not take so skillful a tactician as Sheridan 
long to reorganize his demoralized forces. His 
pluck, his dash, his universally recognized valor, re- 
invigorated his men, who, still stinging with defeat, 


BOWED DOWK 


35B 


rushed upon the foe with such ardor that the assault 
was irresistible. The Southern troops fought gal- 
lantly — they almost invariably did ; now we are 
friends again let all have their due — but their ef- 
forts to restrain the advance of their foes were of 
no avail. Ramseur’s division was in the hottest of 
the fray, and strenuously the regiment under 
Adrian’s command strove to maintain the prestige it 
had that morning won, to retain the laurels its pre- 
vious exploits had gained for it. 

Suddenly the whisper ran — a cry is but a whisper 
mid the din of war — “ Our General is killed and 
ere the fierce fires of revenge had fairly lighted in 
those Southern hearts, another murmur coursed 
through the thinning ranks — “ Brave Castle’s slain.” 

Ramseur had indeed fallen mortally wounded ; 
and Adrian had reeled in his sscddle and sank, ap- 
parently in the swoon of death, into the stalwart 
arms which instinctively stretched themselves forth 
to receive the stricken leader of their brave and 
brilliant band. Then those who in the gray dawn 
of morning had been assailants, and who now in 
the crimson and violet splendors of declining day 
were defenders, worsted at every point, leaderless 
and disorganized, sought, what the bravest must 
sometimes seek, refuge in flight. 

Willing enough were those who had linked them- 


854 


THE GOLDEN LADDER 


selves to an unfortunate cause to peril liberty and 
life — while the latter remained few, indeed, would 
have refused to stand their ground — but their cause 
was their idol, and they knew it to be their duty to 
live for it, and not rashly seek the immolation which 
would be swift and sure did they longer resist. 
Therefore they obeyed the trumpet-given signal to 
retreat, and withdrew from the battle-field, bearing 
with them the almost pulseless bodies of those who 
had lately been their leaders, and the sad knowledge 
that the victory they had gained in the morning 
had been blurred and blotted out from the register 
of fame by the stigma of subsequent defeat. 

General Eamseur was taken prisoner and died on 
the following day ; but Adrian Castle had become 
such a favorite with his men, that a party of them, 
heedless of their own danger, bore him from the 
field. When they ^rrived at a place of safety, a 
surgeon was instantly summoned to ascertain the 
nature of the wound the brave fellow had received. 
He shook his head as he withdrew his probe from 
the orifice in the stricken soldier’s thigh, up from 
which the crimson life-blood welled and trickled 
slowly down upon the sun-scorched grass. 

“ A bad case,” he whispered to one of Adrian’s 
brother oflicers who stood near. The ball has sev- 
ered the femoral artery, and the hemorrhage has 


BOWED DOWN. 


355 


been verj^ great. I will do mj best to save him ; 
but the operation I shall have to perform in order 
to extract the ball is a delicate one, and I think, 
before I attempt it, you had better ascertain if he 
has any -wishes to be fulfilled, in case death should 
ensue.” 

Captain Johnson turned toward where his friend 
was lying, moaning in agony, and tears started to 
the brave man’s eyes as he took the hand of the 
sufierer. 

‘‘ Colonel, this is very sad, a great blow to us all, 
your being so badly wounded. The operation of 
extracting the bullet from your thigh will be at- 
tended with danger ; of course I sincerely trust that 
you will recover ; but, if you want any messages 
sent to your friends, or wish any commissions exe- 
cuted, it would be as well to give the instructions at 
once. I am entirely at your service, and earnestly 
beg that you will command me in any way you may 
deem fit,” he said! 

“ Thanks, Johnson, you are very kind. I do not 
think I shall survive the operation, for I feel very 
weak and my wound pains me terribly. If you will 
be kind enough to deliver this packet into the hands 
— into the liands^ mind — of the lady to whom it is 
addressed, you will confer a favor upon one who 
feels that he will soon pass away from this earth to 


356 


THE GOLDEN LADDER 


the bright spirit-land above. Tell her, — whisper, 
Captain, — tell her that I have been true to her 
through life, and, in these my dying moments, she 
fills my heart and thoughts. If you should ever 
— ” overcome by exhaustion, the wounded soldier 
swooned ere he could conclude his message. 

Early’s army was virtually destroyed in the en- 
gagement at Cedar Creek, and, excepting two or 
three skirmishes, there was no more fighting in the 
valley. Captain Johnson, feeling confident from an 
expression the surgeon in attendance upon Adrian 
gave utterance to when he saw his patient sink into 
a comatose state, had not the slightest hope that his 
brother-officer would live many hours ; therefore, in 
compliance with his injunction, he determined to at 
once seek out Mrs. Morgan and deliver to her the 
package Castle had intrusted to Jnm. This was an 
undertaking attended with no little difficulty, for the 
lady was residing at Hopei and. Colonel Clinton’s 
mansion, in Accomac, and it was* extremly danger- 
ous for the Confederate soldier to venture into the 
Union lines. But he was a skilled strategist, and, 
by adopting a variety of disguises, he managed to 
reach the house of Annah's uncle. 

“I believe I have the pleasure of addressing Mrs. 
Annah Morgan?” said the messenger, inquiringly, 
when that lady, still beautiful, though her fair face 


BOWED DOWE. 


357 


bore evident traces of suffering endured, entered f:he 
ornate and richly-decorated apartment into which 
the visitor had been ushered. 

“ I am, Sir. May I ask to what fortuitous circum- 
stance I am indebted for the honor your presence 
confers ?” 

I am Captain Johnson, Madam — ” Annah courte- 
sied — “ and belong to a Southern regiment of which 
Adrian Castle was lately Colonel.” 

“Adrian Castle, lately! Does he not still hold 
that position ?” cried Annah, her starting eyeballs 
and quivering lips betraying the apprehension the 
soldier’s words inspired within her. 

“'At the battle of Cedar Creek, Madam, he was 
wounded severely. I loved him for his multifarious 
attributes ; and he, knowing my regard for him, feel- 
ing confident that I would obey his behest, intrusted 
me with this package, which he adjured me to deliver 
into your hands. I have not reached you without 
much difficulty, and, even at the present moment, I 
am in danger of being taken prisoner by the enemy ; 
but I hold my toil and trouble and my present peril 
in light estimation, knowing that I have fulfilled the 
last wishes of one who was bound unto me by a 
sacred bond that nought but death could sever.” 

“Dead! Adrian dead!” gasped Annah. “Oh, 
God ! then life is death to me indeed !” she moaned, 


358 


THE GOLDEN LADDER. 


as she sank upon a 'prie-dieu and, burying her face 
in her hands, sobbed convulsively. 

Captain Johnson, his manly heart bleeding at the 
sight of the poor woman’s agony, waited until the 
first paroxysm of grief had somewhat subsided ere 
he spoke again. 

“ How did he die ? He remembered me in his 
last moments, or you would not be here. What 
message did he send?” murmured Annah, so soon 
as her throbbing heart would permit of her giving 
utterance to words. 

“ He bade me to tell you that he had been faithful 
to you through life, and that his dying thoughts 
were of God and you alone. Will you not open the 
packet ? perhaps it contains some written token of 
the affection I am witness he bore unto you.” 

With tremulous fingers Annah broke the seals 
upon the envelope the soldier handed to her. She 
glanced hurriedly/ at the picture of herself — the 
miniature that portrayed her in her purest prime — 
then laid it aside, and with greedy eyes devoured 
the contents of the epistle Adrian had penned the 
night prior to the eventful engagement at Cedar 
Creek. 

Fast fiowed the tears down her damask cheeks as 
she read what Adrian had written unto her ; she did 
not seek to restrain them, she was oblivious of the 


BOWED DOWN. 


359 


presence of a stranger — and they fell, glittering 
opals, in showers, as she learned how true had been 
Castle’s love for her, how pure was the heart that 
she had been deceived in the past into believing 
sullied and estranged. Woe filled her pulsing bosom, 
agony was at her heart. She had by fraud and vil- 
lany been lured into taking a step forward upon 
life’s pathway that she could never retrace ; she had 
been induced to marry a man she did not love, and 
to make blank and desolate, simultaneously, her own 
earthly career and that of the noble youth who 
had been faithful unto her amid all the dangers, 
temptations, and trials by which he had been sur- 
rounded. To bear had been her portion through 
life, and now no slight assault could shake her nerve ; 
but when she came to that part of the letter in 
which Castle stated that it would be only in case of 
his death that she would receive it, the burden that 
fell upon her was greater than she could bear. So 
far her matchless spirit and her eagerness to glean 
intelligence of the fate of him who had been her 
heau-ideal of all that was true and manly had sus- 
tained her. But now — now that the full knowledge 
of her misery came, and she knew that she could 
never ask forgiveness from or gaze upon the man 
who had idolized her in the bright, happy days of 
sunny maidenhood — her overstrained feelings surged 


360 


THE GOLDEN LADDER 


strongly up, and broke the bonds that tried to bind 
them in her breast, and, with the shrill heart-rending 
ery, “Adrian! Adrian!” she sank inanimate upon 
the silken couch. 

Captain Johnson, with the innate delicacy which 
indicates the true gentleman, had been gazing ab- 
stractedly out of one of the windows while Ann ah 
perused the letter, which he brought ; when the 
words she gave utterance to fell upon his ear, how- 
ever, he glanced suddenly round, and, readily com- 
prehending the state of affairs, he rang the bell 
violently and then elevated the head of the uncon- 
scious lady. 

“ Call Mrs. Clinton, bring water quick, my girl !” 
cried Johnson to the juvenile negress who answered 
his summons. 

The dusky complexion of the girl changed to an 
ashy hue from fright at beholding Annah senseless, 
and she ran alcing the corridor uttering frantic 
screams. They aroused Colonel Clinton ; he quickly 
quitted his apartment, and arresting the slave-girl’s 
flight, he sternly demanded the cause of the demon- 
stration. 

“ Oh ! Marster, Miss Annah is killed, sure. There 
is a stranger along with her corpse in the drawing- 
room,” gasped the affrighted girl. 

The colonel hurried along the passage and 


BOWED DOWN. 


361 


entered, sans ceremonie, the apartment designated 
by the negress. He halted on the threshold, fairly 
astounded at beholding Annah prone upon a couch 
and a tall man, whose handsome features were en- 
tirely unfamiliar, bending over her. 

“ What, in God’s name. Sir, is the trouble? What 
is the matter with my niece ?” he cried. Noticing at 
a glance that the stranger was an equal, he forebore 
to question him as to the cause of his presence. 

“ I am the bearer of sad tidings, Sir. Colonel 
Castle fell in the late battle at Cedar Creek, and the 
news of his demise has overcome Mrs. Morgan,” 
replied Captain Johnson. 

Annah’s uncle said nothing ; he knew the relation 
in which Adrian had once stood to Annah, and 
guessed that the old love she bore unto him in the 
past had not died utterly away. Tenderly lifting 
the fairy form of the inanimate lady, he carried hei 
to her bedroom, and called his wife and the female 
servants to assist her with the delicate attentions 
and sympathy women invariably show to the 
afflicted. He then returned to the drawing-room, 
and, entering into conversation with Johnson, soon 
learned from him particulars of the battle and 
Adrian’s sad fate. At nightfall the gallant captain 
would have taken his departure, but his genial host 
would not countenance any such proceeding, and 
16 


8G2 


THE GOLDEN LADDER 


insisted on the soldier remaining all night, which he 
consented to do when Annah sent him a special 
request not to leave until she could see him and 
thank him for his fidelity to the man she so dearly 
loved. From her own lips, the following morning, 
Johnson heard the story of her life. She told it to 
him plainly and truthfully, concealing nothing, and, 
when she finished the recital of her wrongs, he could 
not avoid giving utterance to the sentiment of his 
heart. 

“ What a mean, dastardly scoundrel Morgan must 
be 1” cried the noble-hearted fellow, whose mind 
revolted at the idea of the gentle lady before him 
ever having been subjected to maltreatment and 
ignominy. 

Annah had dressed herself in deep mourning, and 
her pale face contrasting with the sable habiliments 
of woe, made her look so exquisitely beautiful and 
interesting, that \ Johnson could readily appreciate 
the long-lasting affection that his friend Castle had 
borne unto her. Tears bedimmed the bonny blue 
eyes of the suffering woman as she bade adieu to 
the man who had been the trusty friend of him who 
had been the light of her life in days long past and 
gone ; him whom she would never more behold 
until welcome death should reunite their souls in 
the happy summer-land of eternity. 


BOWED DOWN. 


363 


ADRIAN’S VOICE FROxM SUMMER-LAND. 

Hark ! I hear a spirit’s voice 
Whispering in the air, 

He brings to me glad tidings 
From yon bright world afar ; 

He tells me of a summer-land, 

Whose fields are ever green. 

He tells me of the golden streets 
No mortal eye hath seen. 

He speaks to me of pearly gates 
That dazzle human eyes. 

When we have passed away 
From earth beyond the skies. 

What beauty in the summer-land — 

There is no weeping there. 

No sighing mother or pining babe, 

No father pressed with care. 

He speaks of birds whose tiny plumes 
Are fluttering in the breeze, 

Whose notes swell the enchanting choir . 

As they fly amid the trees. 

He tells of flowers rich and rare. 

Whose petals are so bright. 

There fragrance floats upon the breeze 
In that fair world of light. 

He speaks of gurgling rivulets 
Whose waters gently flow 
In that not far off summer-land 
Where spirit friends do go. 

He tells of dear ones in that world 
Who have learned to love each other, 
They live upon a sacred plain. 

As brother should with brother. 


364 


THE GOLDEN LADDER. 


Much to Captain Johnson’s astonishment and 
exceeding joy, when he rejoined his regiment he 
found that the surgeon had managed so skillfully 
to extract the bullet from Adrian’s thigh that the 
wounded man was rapidly recovering his health and 
strength. When his messenger gave a full account 
of his interview with Annah, conflicting emotions 
convulsed Adrian’s enfeebled frame. Great glad- 
ness filled his breast when he learned that Annah 
still loved him ; righteous indignation caused the 
hot blood to suffuse his brow when Johnson recited 
the tale of Morgan’s malicious scheming to win his 
wife, and his subsequent ill-treatment of her ; and 
sorrow half effaced his joy when he learned that she 
whom he loved better than life was suffering bitter 
anguish and much misery — mourning him dead. 
His first care was to write to Annah, and in the 
letter he sent he told her how he had been ever true 
to her ; told hei how he pitied her, and bade her 
bear up and have every hope that the future would 
be bright and pleasant as the past had been dark 
and dreary — the future that he hoped to share with 
her ; for, as soon as the matrimonial link that " 
bound Morgan unto her was severed, he would take 
her unto himself for wife. 

The reader can better imagine than we can 
describe the joy that filled Annah’s heart when she 


BOWED DOWN. 


365 


received this letter and her trembling hand broke 
the seal, and she saw that it was from him her 
soul worshipped, whom she had supposed dead, as 
the foregoing verses, her composition on the subject, 
will indicate. 


CHAPTEK XXXIII. 


THE RETRIBUTION. 


f^'^'IGHTENED of a heavy load was Annah’s 
heart when she received the glad tidings 
that her beloved Adrian was still spared 
unto her, that the bolt from “Azrael’s 
deadly quiver” that had laid him low, had not parted 
them forever on this earth. Until the colonel was 
sufficiently recovered to take the field again, a reg- 
ular ^correspondence was maintained between them ; 
but when Adrian was enabled to rejoin his regi- 
ment, duty, time, aud place prevented such continu- 
ous intercourse. The division of which Castle’s^ 
regiment formed a part had been so decimated at 
the battle of tJedar Creek that it was found neces- 
sary to draft men into it. By one of those very sin- 
gular coincidences which sometimes occur, Marcel- 
lus Morgan, who, having squandered his patrimony, 
could no longer raise funds to pay for a substitute, 
was drafted into the very same corps that was com- 
manded by the man he had so deeply injured. 

Time had wrought so many changes in the ap- 


THE BETBIBUTIOH. 


867 


pearance of both Adrian and Marcellus, that for 
some while they did not recognize each other. 
Morgan was the first to' discover the fact of his 
being subordinate to the gallant fellow whose sweet- 
heart he had lured away by cunning devices, and he 
possessed sufiicient sense to keep the secret to him- 
self. But a young officer, who had been well ac- 
quainted with the ex-planter in the days of his pros- 
perity and debauchery, happened to mention at the 
mess-table, in Castle’s presence, the fact of Mor- 
gan’s having been compelled to descend from his 
high estate to that of private in the th regi- 

ment ; and Adrian, upon instituting inquiries, found 
that his adversary in love was now absolutely in his 
power. His was, however, .too noble and generous 
a nature to take advantage of his authoritative 
position to inflict condign punishment upon the 
traitor. His sense of honor was too strong to even 
allow of his annoying the culprit by any indirect 
means ; therefore, though whenever his eye lighted 
upon the debauched miscreant who had wrecked his 
life and rendered miserable that of an innocent girl, 
he felt sorely tempted to strike him to the earth, he 
pretended not to be aware that he had ever seen or 
heard of “ No. 4, Company G,” before the enrollment 
of that estimable gentleman in the regiment under 
his command. 


368 


THE GOLDEN LADDER. 


“ The mills of God grind slowly, but they grind 
exceeding small/’ In a sharp brush with the enemy 
— a skirmish the dispatches designated it — Marcel- 
lus received so severe a wound that the doctors, 
directly they examined it, declared it to be impos- 
sible for him to exist a day longer on earth. Some 
one of his comrades who had not become hardened 
and thoroughly callous by the exigencies of war, 
told him the surgeon’s fiat, and earnestly besought 
him to make his peace with our Great Master, who 
has promised that “ when the wicked man turneth 
away from the wickedness that hediath committed, 
and doeth the thing that is lawful and right, he shall 
save his soul alive.” 

Like Yoltaire, Paine, and many others who, while 
in rude health, have declared themselves atheists, 
Morgan, now that he felt dissolution coming, feared 
to die with his sins unredeeined and thick upon 
him. 

“ Comrade, will you tell Colonel Castle that I wish 
to see him ? Tell him I am dying, and I do not 
think he will refuse to come to me,” he moaned. 

The man did his bidding, and Adrian responded 
at once to the summons. Strenuously he tried to 
conceal his feelings — the gratification that the ex- 
planter’s death would force upon him. 

“ You wish to see me, I am told. What can I do 


THE RETRIBUTION. 


369 


for you ?” he said, coldly : he was not hypocritical 
enough to affect sympathy. 

‘‘ Forgive me !” groaned the wounded man. ‘‘ Col- 
onel Castle, though you have seen me daily since I 
joined the regiment, you have failed to recognize in 
me one who deeply injured you years ago ; I am 
Marcellus Morgan.” 

“ I know it — discovered it weeks ago.” 

“ You knew it, and yet never took revenge when 
your position would have so fully enabled you to do 
so ! ' Surely you could never have loved Annah — ” 

“ Listen, comrade,” whispered Castle, in a gentle 
tone that fell like a hymn upon the sufferer’s ear, 
“ He before whom you will soon stand to render up 
an account of your life on earth, has declared ven- 
geance is His alone, and I am one who acknowl- 
edges His supremacy. Throughout the long years, 
which have been to me centuries of torture, since 
last we met, I have never forgotten my love for her 
whom by chicanery you wooed and won. Though 
my heart seemed like to wilt when I heard that she 
had wedded you, yet I struggled on, toiling through 
life without aim or purpose, but ever constant to the 
vow of fidelity unto her that I registered on the 
eventful day of my departure for the East. How 
you could have found it in your heart to so basely 
deceive an innocent girl I cannot imagine ; why you 
16 * 


370 


THE GOLDEN LADDER. 


ill-treated her when you accomplished your design 
of making her your wife, seems to me to be beyond 
mortal ken. But I will not upbraid you now ; you 
have not long to linger here below, and such conso- 
lation as these my last words can convey to you is 
freely given. I fully forgive you the injury you 
wrought me in the past. I pray God to be merciful 
unto you, and I exhort you to endeavor, to the best 
of your ability, to make your peace with Him, so 
that you may gain admittance into His Heavenly 
Kingdom,” said Adrian, with impressive solemnity. 

“ Colonel, you are a good man, and will reap your 
reward hereafter. You are sincere in this, as in 
everything, and if the prayers of the righteous are 
of avail, I may find that in death which I have never 
found in life — perfect tranquillity,” murmured the 
dying man, as he seized the colonel’s hand, kissed 
it with his lips, and blotted it with hot, scalding 
tears of remorse. 

An hour later the sin -stained soul of Marcellus 
Morgan had winged its flight to another sphere. 


CHAPTER XXXIV. 


POET AT LAST. 



Richmond had been invested and Lee’s 
army had surrendered. Bravely as those 
who linked their lives and fortunes with the 
Southern States strove to gain the ascend- 
ancy over their brothers of the North, they could 
not succeed. Their cause was an unholy one ; they 
fought for slavery, not freedom, and the God of 
battles favored their adversaries. 

When peace was formally declared, Adrian in- 
stantly proceeded to Accomac and to the house of 
Colonel Clinton, in order to obtain an interview with 
his loved Annah, who was still residing at the house 
of her uncle. 

“ Is Mrs. Morgan within ?” inquired Castle, g-d- 
dressing a dusky domestic who answered his appeal 
to the bell. 

“ No, Sir ! she’s out walking ; guess somewhere 
down on the beach,” replied the servant. 

Adrian turned on his heel and took the nearest 
path to the water’s edge. He soon gained it, and 
after the rough scenes, the swampy camping-grounds, 


372 


THE GOLDEN LADDER. 


and the dusty marches he had been of late accus- 
tomed to, the view before him seemed one of supreme 
splendor. Before him, far as the eye could reach, 
lay the ocean 

“ Deep set with agate and the azure sheen 
Of Turkis blue and emerald green.” 

Above, the light fleecy clouds, flecked with sun- 
rays, resembled islands of floating roses ; behind him 
hill and valley, clothed in glorious verdure, backed 
up the tawny sands on which he stood, and away, 
far away in the distance, he detected the garments 
of a lady fluttering in the breeze. Quickening his 
pace, he hurried along the sparkling sands, his 
head bent downward, his eyes riveted upon the in- 
dentations that a pair of tiny feet had printed on 
the golden strand. 

Almost before he was aw^re of it he became con- 
scious of the close proximity of his long-lost Annah. 
Though time, with his unscrupulous Angers, had carved 
deep lines of care upon her face and seamed the fore- 
head that in its pristine freshness had resembled pol- 
ished ivory, Adrian had no difficulty in recognizing 
the features of the woman who had held his heart in 
bondage through so many long years, as she came 
toward him, her somber habiliments — the mourning 
garb for a man she never loved — floating in the 
wind, and her sweet, sad face smiling from beneath 


PORT AT LAST. 


373 


the white “ weeds” that fringed her brow. Adrian, 
struggling to appear calm, doffed his hat as he 
neared Annah. The hot blood surged up and 
flushed her fair cheeks with living flame. A mo- 
ment she paused, as though doubting her senses, 
then giving utterance to the shrill cry, “ Oh, Adrian ! 
Adrian! at last!” she sank, half-swooning, in her 
lover’s arms. 

Tenderly he held her, softly he pressed warm 
kisses upon the ruby lips of his darling, until the 
light of life glowed once more in her violet eyes, 
glowed and burned into vivid love-fires. 

Oh ! my love,” he murmured, “ this repays me 
for all the misery I have endured, all the suffering 
I have experienced. I am so happy that we have 
met here on the wild sea-beach, where there is no 
eye to witness our joys and sorrows except the Great 
Omnipotent who created his creatures to love for- 
ever. I will not upbraid you now, my pet, I will not 
say aught about the agony which convulsed me 
when I learned that you had wedded Marcellus Mor- 
gan — when, as I thought, you forgot your vows of 
fidelity unto me, and purposely tossed my love aside 
as a thing unworthy of consideration. I know that 
you were basely deceived by your late husband. 
How he could have found it in his evil heart to so 
torture two innocent persons I cannot conceive. 


374 


THE GOLDEN LADDER. 


However, he is dead now, and you are free to be 
mine. Will you repledge yourself unto me, sweet one? 
will you share with me the future that now beams so 
brightly before us?” 

“ Oh ! Adrian, this is what for so many long years 
I have been praying for — this reunion of our hearts. 
But do not, merely to satisfy your nice sense of 
honor, sacrifice yourself for my sake. I am not fair- 
faced as when in the olden time you pledged your- 
self unto me. I broke that pledge ; on me alone 
then let the punishment fall. Some other — ” 

“ Can never fill any place in my heart. I love you 
with tenfold greater affection than ever. Time has 
matured my regard for you, made stronger the pas- 
sion that burned in my youthful breast. I am yours, 
Annah, through weal or woe, until death do us part.” 

“ Adrian, do you remember this little ring ?” 

“ Yes, dearest ; you have kept the gage dC amour 
carefully; I have still the ruby trinket you gave 
me.” 

“ I lost this once, Adrian — after I lost, as I 
thought, your love, this ring also disappeared. 
There is a strange storj^ connected with it. I missed 
it from my jewel-case some years after my marriage. 
Though I sought for it most energetically, I could 
not recover it, and at last I felt confident that Mar- 
cellus must have purloined it. I gave it up as 


PORT AT LAST 


375 


utterly lost, when, to my great astonishment, it was 
returned to me a few weeks ago by the mother of a 

girl named Lucretia L , to whom Morgan had 

presented it when he was carrying on an illicit cor- 
respondence with her. See, it sparkles brightly yet, 
though its luster seemed to dim when I married 
Morgau.” 

“It will beam brighter than ever, darling, now 
that we are reunited. Let us go to the house, sweet 
one, for your uncle, knowing of my arrival, is doubt- 
less anxiously awaiting our advent,” said Adrian, as 
he linked Annah’s arm within his own, and slowly 
sauntered along the golden sands. 

Adrian rehearsed the sad tale of his father’s death 
and the many long years he had spent in the East ; 
but now all was gladness and sunshine. 

Happy were the hearts of the two lovers. Years 
of absence and tribulation had intensified their 
affection, and now everything seemed bright and 
beautiful unto them. Even the plashing waves, 
mournful as their music had seemed to Annah when 
she strolled alone along the beach, now changed 
their tone, and what had erstwhile been a murmur- 
ous monotone now became a happy hymn. 

A month after the arrival of Colonel Castle at 
Hopeland, the usually quiet Clinton household was 
disturbed to a tremendous extent by the prepara- 


376 


THE GOLDEN LADDER 


tions for the festivities to be inaugurated on the 
marriage of Annah with Adrian. A gay party soon 
assembled in the spacious mansion, which was 
superbly decorated throughout with festoons of 
flowers and evergreens, and none were merrier or 
more light-hearted than Andrew Foy and Annah’s 
stepmother, Mrs. Patter, and her sister Betsie. 
They had been true and steadfast to our heroine 
through all her tribulation ;‘and now that the sable 
clouds of care had vanished, it was but fair that 
they should obtain a glimpse at the golden glory 
that irradiated the pathway Annah was soon to 
tread. 

Bright and beaming was the widow’s face as she 
stood beside her handsome soldier-lover and heard 
the minister pronounce the solemn words that de- 
clared her once more a wife — a wife, not only in 
name, a mere household chapel, but a trusted, well- 
beloved Companion, to share equally joy and sorrow, 
the inevitable concomitants of existence in this sub- 
lunary sphere. When Annah had linked herself to 
Morgan, an awful storm, typical of the fate in store 
for her, had raged, and the bride had noticed the 
omen ; now the whole of earth’s surface, and even 
the azure sky, seemed flushed with gladness : this 
augured future felicity. 

Eeader, Annah’s trials are over. We have fol- 


PORT AT LAST 


377 


lowed her on her direful course over the rugged 
pathway of life, seen her bowed down by sorrow, 
buoyed up by hope, and made happy at last. Let 
those in affliction bear in mind the fortitude that 
aided her to struggle with adversity, so that, emu- 
lating her, they may learn “ to suffer and be strong 
and those who may be tempted to make mercenary 
marriages hesitate ere they place foot upon the 
‘‘ Golden Ladder” that leads to the pinnacle of re- 
morse and woe. Let perfect Faith, truthful Hope, 
and omnipotent Charity be the guiding stars of our 
lives, and we may rest assured that we shall receive 
the rich reward of our actions when our spirits soar 
to the summer-land above. 


THE END. 


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